The Team Rocket Chronicles
by Red Dragonfly
Summary: Jesse has and older sister. Jaquie is everything Jesse is not: cool, competent, commanding-and second only to Giovanni in Team Rocket. But can Jaquie withstand an island of super-strong pokemon, unruly teammates, and her own little sister? OCs abound. Complete.
1. Skip This Page!

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

by** Red Dragonfly **(aka** Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

. . .

**SKIP THIS PAGE**

This page contains the copyright, the table of contents, author's notes, and boring stuff like that. If you want to know how I came up with this story and why such ancient things as CD players are mentioned, you can come back and read it. Otherwise, I suggest going straight to the prologue.

. . .

**Table of Contents**

Prologue: Giovanni's Team Rocket School

PART I: EXPLORATION

Chapter 1: The Best of the Best

Chapter 2: The Best of the Best... and Jesse and James

Chapter 3: Explanations and Accusatios

Chapter 4: Wild Pokemon

Chapter 5: Damages

Chapter 6: Cooperation

Chapter 7: The End of the Day

Chapter 8: A Change of Perspective

Chapter 9: Nidorinos and Nidorinas

Chapter 10: Prepare for Trouble

Chapter 11: Make It Double

Chapter 12: Jaquie's Best Pokemon

Chapter 13: Reactions

Chapter 14: The Discovery

PART II: ALLIANCES

Chapter 15: The Pokemon of Mountaintop City

Chapter 16: Gadara's Tale

Chapter 17: On Being Rational

Chapter 18: Training

Chapter 19: Thoughts in the Quiet Nights

Chapter 20: Morning Rituals

Chapter 21: This Side of Paradise

Chapter 22: The Seeds of Rebellion

Chapter 23: Stress and Dissension

Chapter 24: To Protect the World from Devestation

Chapter 25: To Unite All Peoples Within Our Nation

Chapter 26: Jared's Observations

Chapter 27: March Nineteenth

PART III: TREACHERY

Chapter 28: The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 29: Thunder in the Distance

Chapter 30: The Storm Breaks

Chapter 31: Psychics, Water, and Rage

Chapter 32: Breaking Point

Chapter 33: To Denounce the Evils of Truth and Love

Chapter 34: To Extend Our Reach to the Stars Above

Chapter 35: Jesse, James

Chapter 36: Team Rocket Blast Off at the Speed of Light

Chapter 37: Surrender Now or Prepare to Fight

Epilogue: Jaquie's Company

. . .

**Copyright**

I don't know who, exactly owns pokemon. I suspect Nintendo. At any rate, the copy right does not belong to me. However, Jaquie, Karen, Kris, and Jared are all original characters and I have the rights to them. Probably.

One day I hope to be a rich and famous fantasy writer. But right now, I have no money. So please don't sue me.

**Setting**

Once upon a time, there were only 150 pokemon. It was a simpler time. In the world of my story, the number of pokemon is frozen at 150, while time actually moves forward. Kind of the opposite of the T.V. series. Ash has succeeded in becoming pokemon master and Jesse and James are searching for a new purpose. The American T.V. show is the primary influence, with some of the pokemon stats and attacks coming from a Nintendo cheat guide.

**Author's Nostalgia**

I wrote this story from 1999-2003, when I was in high school. Not only were there fewer pokemon, but people still used things like video cameras and CDs. Also, I did not have my own computer and the Internet was still something of a novelty to me.

Back then, I had a book about pokemon with some human characters inside them. I'd trace around them, change their hair and clothes around, and create my own characters. Then I'd make up stories about them to amuse my younger sister and brother. One such character was Jaquie, Jesse's older sister, who secretly ran Team Rocket and who was everything Jesse wasn't: cool, competent, and intelligent.

I had no idea I was even writing fanfiction at the time. I just knew I liked Jaquie and wanted to write a grand adventure for her. So I did. It took four years. After I finished, I stuffed my story in a drawer, went to college, and attempted to improve my craft. Sometimes, when I read this old story, I shudder at how bad my writing was.

But my sister still likes it. She's asked me to post it for her friends to read. So, here I go, conquering my perfectionism. Though I went back and cut out the worst of the cliches, my work is not as polished as I'd like. Nonetheless, it has some redeeming value, and I hope you're able to enjoy it. :)


	2. Prologue: Giovanni's Team Rocket School

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly **(aka** Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Prologue

**Giovanni's Team Rocket School**

. . .

. . .

Giovanni was angry. Beyond angry, really. He faced the three quivering idiots as they begged and pleaded for forgiveness.

"How could you lose it?" he shouted.

The trio began babbling.

"Silence!" ordered Giovanni. "I don't want your excuses."

It was bad enough that they had ruined his gym, destroyed thousands of dollars worth of equipment, and been unable to capture a single worthwhile pokemon. But now this! They couldn't even do simple household chores!

The threesome had become quiet again. A nervous sort of quiet. Perhaps the amount of trouble they were in had finally entered their thick heads.

"Now explain to me how you managed to screw up your assignment yet again."

Neither the girl, the boy, and the cat seemed particularly eager to speak. At last the girl, the obvious leader, stepped up. "Well, you see, sir, we had done what you told us to do. We had washed it..."

"Groomed it..." added the boy.

"Sharpened its claws..." interjected the cat.

"And fed it," finished the girl. "We were just about to start on the next chore, when that twerp and his Pikachu showed up."

"So you decided to try and steal it, yet again," said Giovanni with disgust.

"Of course," said the girl. "We know how much you want that Pikachu. So we put your Persian back in its pokeball-"

"Oh, you should have seen the battle," burst in the boy. "We were so devious as we glided in-"

"Shut up!" bellowed Giovanni. "The last thing I want to hear is how you've failed me!"

The three began to shake again.

"You battled, and you lost," summed up Giovanni.

"And the next thing we knew we were flying through the air," said the boy.

"And when we counted our pokeballs..." put in the girl.

"We found the one with your Persian in it was missing," said the cat.

"So what you're saying is that my Persian could be anywhere from here to the Orange Islands!"

"Well," said the idiot boy, "probably not the Orange Islands. We didn't fly that far..."

"Silence!"

Giovanni stood up and glared at the three incompetents. They shivered, more frightened than ever. Giovanni could not believe how useless they were. After nearly five years, this trio had not done one thing to prove they were capable of capturing pokemon. They had to be the worst failure in the history of Team Rocket.

The girl especially disappointed him. He had expected great things from her. After all, her sister had been the most valuable teacher of the Team Rocket School. In fact, she'd been the one to inspire the project in the first place.

. . .

Jaquie had red hair that twisted back into a curl and blue eyes that glowed of mischief. She wore a neatly patched black leather jacket and slouched in her chair as Giovanni interviewed her, looking generally uninterested in anything he had to say.

"You want to join Team Rocket, do you?" Giovanni asked in a slithery sort of voice he reserved for his new recruits.

"If it pays well," she replied, leaning backward into her chair and putting her feet on top of Giovanni's desk. "I need the money for my family."

"I see," he said. "Have you ever caught a pokemon before?"

"No." She shrugged. "What's there to know? You find a pokemon, weaken it, and throw a pokeball at it. Any half-brain could do it." There was an empty pokeball on Giovanni's desk. Jaquie picked it up and rolled it meticulously around with her fingers.

"It requires a little more skill than that. You have to..."

Jaquie stood, spun, and threw the pokeball at a dart board decorating the far wall. There was a dart still embedded in the bullseye; when Jaquie's pokeball hit dead center, it absorbed the dart into it. Jaquie picked up the pokeball, twirled it one last time, then flicked it back onto Giovanni's desk.

"Any half-brain could do it," she repeated, staring at him defiantly with her piercing blue eyes. "And I'm not a half-brain."

Giovanni was secretly impressed. Not only did the girl have good aim, she seemed fairly intelligent and daring. Perhaps a little too daring for Giovanni's liking-he was not used to being talked to like that, especially by some worthless recruit-but it was nothing Giovanni couldn't cure her of.

"You're hired," he said. "There will be an orientation for new recruits tomorrow, in order to see if you are worthy of joining." Giovanni gave the girl an icy smile. "If you capture pokemon half as well as you capture darts, I'm sure you'll have no trouble."

"Once I pass orientation, what happens then?" Jaquie asked.

"_If_ you pass, you will be issued a uniform and receive weekly instructions for your new duties as a member of Team Rocket. In addition, you will be required to do whatever I saw whenever I say. I will be your boss, and you will follow my orders." Giovanni emphasized each word to be sure she got the picture, then his lips turned upward to form his same, cold grin. "If you pass, of course."

"That's all?" Giovanni nodded. "When do I get paid?"

"If you become a member, you will be paid every month, starting the day after you pass the test." Giovanni told her the amount she would be paid, as well as the time of her orientation and some other minor details. "Who knows?" he added, as Jaquie got up to leave. "I'm looking for a partner. You seem to be a bright girl. Maybe my partner will be you someday."

Jaquie snorted. "Yeah, right," she scoffed. "I'm sure you say that to all your recruits. It may work on them, but I'm a little harder to impress. I'm in here for the money, not some fancy promotion."

Giovanni could have fired her right there for her disrespectful attitude. But he liked this girl's cleverness; she wasn't fooled by blind promises. He had a feeling she would turn out to be more valuable than the average Team Rocket member.

. . .

The next day, Giovanni led his army of recruits, Jaquie included, into the vicinity of a small field. The recruits buzzed with excitement, like a hive of insects. _They are insects,_ thought Giovanni. _They stumble along, doing whatever I command. Inferior beings. The whole army does not have half the brains I do._

"Hey," said Jaquie. "Is our orientation to stand in the field all day or what?"

_Except, perhaps, her,_ thought Giovanni. He turned to her. She wore the same patched-up jacket as before, the same sullen stare. Unlike the other recruits, she was unexcited, quite bored-looking, in fact. _Yes_, thought Giovanni, _she may be useful, if she can be made to serve me._

"Let's get started with the test," said Giovanni.

The crowd quieted as he began to speak. He told them, briefly, their instructions. Each person would receive three pokeballs. He or she had to go into the field and catch three of the pokemon that lurked there: a Pidgey, a Rattata, and a Nidoran, boy or girl.

"Each of you will be given a starter pokemon." He snapped his fingers and men in black uniforms began to hand out pokeballs to the new recruits. "These pokemon are yours to keep, provided you pass your test." Giovanni smiled maliciously at the new recruits. "Are there any questions?"

Only Jaquie dared ask. "We get paid as long as we pass, right? Well, what if we capture rarer pokemon than those. Do we get paid extra?"

Giovanni blinked, surprised. "You certainly have an unusual obsession with money."

"Hey," said Jaquie, hands on hips, "I have a sick mother at home and a kid sister who thinks eating snow for lunch is a good thing. I need the money. Now if you have a problem with that..."

Giovanni laughed. "If you're able to catch pokemon rarer than these, I'll give you a ten percent bonus. But don't spend all day looking; I want to be out of here within the next hour and a half."

Despite her possible potential, Giovanni knew the girl wouldn't be able to find anything unique. The only pokemon that lived in this particular field were Pidgeys, Rattatas, and Nidorans.

So it was a huge shock when Jaquie came strolling casually back to the starting point an hour later with a Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander within her three pokeballs.

"Where did you find them?" he demanded.

Jaquie gestured vaguely. "They were around."

"What do you mean by 'around'? I've been coming here for twenty years now, and I've never seen a wild Squirtle, Bulbasaur, or Charmander. As far as I know they can't survive here. Now, explain to me how you've managed to come across three in just one hour."

Jaquie shrugged incredulously. "I just found them. Don't ask me what they were doing here, 'cause I don't know. Maybe they ran away from a trainer or were abandoned. They were kind of tough to beat."

Giovanni stared at her suspiciously. He couldn't quite believe she had just stumbled upon them; it seemed to him that Jaquie had known exactly what she was doing.

"What type of pokemon did you receive from me? A Nidoran male, was it? That pokemon had never been in battle before, and you admitted yourself that you've never caught a pokemon before. Do you expect me to believe that you somehow managed to defeat and capture three human-trained pokemon the first time you've ever done this?"

"I don't expect you to believe anything," retorted Jaquie. "Except that you now have three pokemon rarer than a Pidgey, a Rattata, and a Nidoran. I really did capture them myself, but if you want to believe I stole them or someone gave them to me, that's fine with me. But I expect to be paid extra today, since I fulfilled my end of the bargain."

Giovanni conceded. Jaquie had an attitude, showed no respect for authority, and was obviously keeping a secret from Giovanni. But she was also the most brilliant young recruit had had ever stumbled upon, and within a single day had made herself quite possibly the most valuable Team Rocket member he had.

. . .

Jaquie came home that night with a new Team Rocket uniform, a nice sum of money, and mixed feelings. On the one hand she was grateful to have gotten the job at Team Rocket-the pay was good, the hours were nice, and she could build up her skills as a pokemon trainer. But, on the other hand, Jaquie knew perfectly well that Team Rocket was an organization of thieves and criminals. She wasn't quite comfortable with that fact. Her mom had told her never to turn to a life of crime, and somehow she couldn't quite ignore that warning.

Jaquie went into her room and laid her uniform neatly on the bed.

"Jaquie, is that you?" Her mother's voice called softly from the adjacent room.

Jaquie glided into her mother's bedroom. "Hi mom," she said, "how are you feeling today?"

From under her faded quilted comforter, Jaquie's mother gave her daughter a weak smile. "A little better," she said, "though I still feel weak."

"Where's Jesse?"

Her mother coughed. "I dropped her off at a friend's house this morning. I had a doctor's appointment."

"Did the doctor say anything?" asked Jaquie as she helped prop her mom up on the bed.

"He prescribed a new medicine," said Jaquie's mother. "It's supposed to work miracles."

"Does it?" asked Jaquie. Every time her mother said something about a new medicine, Jaquie felt strangely hopeful. Her mother had been sick for the last three years and only seemed to grow worse. Jaquie knew most of the new, miraculous medicines weren't very effective, but desperation made Jaquie optimistic.

"I don't know." Jaquie's mother sighed. "It's very expensive. And as we are... well, I just can't afford it."

Wordlessly, Jaquie took the money out of her pocket. Her mother's widened as Jaquie slipped the money on the sheets next to her.

"Jaquie, where...?" her mother began.

"I got a new job." Jaquie rushed to explain. "I was hired today."

Her mother's face showed concern. "I thought you wanted to be a pokemon trainer."

"I did."

But being a trainer didn't pay much. In the meantime it took money to pay for all those pokeballs and superpotions, not to mention countless hours away from home. If you got to the top, it was only by years of tough training. What, then, would happen to Jaquie's family?

"You shouldn't have to sacrifice your dreams for money," her mother said.

_It's not the money I care about,_ thought Jaquie. _It's my family._ But she would have never said those words out loud.

Her mother shook her head. "No, I won't have it. You shouldn't need to get a job. Your dreams come first."

"But mom, this is like my dreams," blurted Jaquie. "Sort of. I get to catch pokemon; it's part of my job."

Jaquie would never openly lie to her mother, but exaggeration was different. It was true that she did capture pokemon. Her mom didn't have to know the name of the organization she was catching them for.

Jaquie's mother looked quizzical. "Who would pay for someone to capture pokemon?"

"Some rich, eccentric guy." Though her voice sounded normal, inside Jaquie's stomach felt strangely fluttery and her ears felt hot; she was not, as of yet, a natural liar. "He even gave me my first pokemon. See." Jaquie showed her mom the pokeball. "It's a Nidoran boy. We had an orientation at the Sepia field. I caught three pokemon, and I was hired."

Her mother smiled. "That's great. I guess all the time you spent there paid off."

Jaquie nodded.

The Sepia field was Jaquie's favorite place to watch pokemon. As a young girl, her mother had taken her there and showed her how to look for pokemon tracks. Her mother had shown her how to tell if a print belonged to a Ratatta or a Charmander, a Pidgey or a Bulbasaur, a Nidoran or a Squirtle. As she got older, Jaquie would watch the trainers battle in the field. She had quickly learned the strengths and weaknesses of various pokemon, as well as their best attacks. Jaquie remembered last week, when she discovered with excitement three rare pokemon hiding in the field, using shallow holes in the never ending sea of grass to camouflage their existence from all who passed. All who passed except her.

Jaquie's mother began to cough and Jaquie rushed to her aid. The medicine Jaquie gave her made her sleepy. As Jaquie's mother drifted off to sleep, she murmured, "Wake me up in an hour to pick up your sister."

"Don't worry." Jaquie would pick Jesse up herself.

Jaquie went back into her room. Her Team Rocket uniform stared back at her, neat upon the bed.

There was no choice really. It was the only job Jaquie could get that would support her family.

From the chipped, veneered dressing table, Jaquie got out a needle and thread. She would be a criminal, but she would never compromise who she was. She would never be a mindless follower.

Her uniform would need some adjusting.

. . .

_After a while_, thought Jaquie, _being a member of Team Rocket can get pretty __boring_.

She had worked for Giovanni for three months and had found that her job included no more than throwing pokeballs and occasionally handling some fancy equipment. Plus, acting all bad and tough. Jaquie had heard that people in Team Rocket got into a lot of fights, but the only ones she had been in were with the other members. A couple had jerks had some how got it into their heads that they were better than her and got really upset when she told them they were "ugly freaks stupider than a retarded slowpoke." There was a pokemon battle, which Jaquie had won.

But besides fighting, Jaquie hated being with the other members of the team. They seemed to think of themselves as hardened criminals, regular fugitives from the law. Only Jaquie seemed to realize the truth-that they were pawns of Giovanni.

Not that she minded being a pawn as long as her checks came on time, but still, there had to be something more than this. She decided to tell Giovanni about it.

"I mean, all we ever do is follow you around maybe once a week and help you capture some pokemon." She stood with casual confidence in Giovanni's office, wearing her snappy new Team Rocket suit. By turning the shirt into a jacket to wear in front of her white shirt, replacing the large red R in the front with a small R on the side, and disregarding the hat altogether, Jaquie managed to look more like a business woman than an ordinary criminal. "And, hey, I don't really have a problem with that, but isn't there something else I could be doing? I feel like I'm being paid for nothing."

Giovanni seemed intrigued. "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting I go out on my own and capture rare wild pokemon for you," she said. "I'll return every month to collect my check and give you the pokemon. After all, you can't be everywhere at once and I can work much more efficiently on my own."

"That sounds reasonable," said Giovanni, beginning to turn away from her.

"And as a reward for my extra efforts," continued Jaquie, "I will receive, in addition to my salary, 20 percent of the market value for each pokemon I bring in." Jaquie squared her shoulders and looked Giovanni defiantly in the eye.

Giovanni turned back. "And why should I agree to that?" he asked in a hard voice.

Jaquie shrugged like she didn't care. "It's all one to me. I can go back to throwing pokeballs at pokemon, like any other blockhead. I can go on doing whatever petty chore you assign. But this way, we'd both benefit. You'd have more rare pokemon and I'd be richer."

"How can I refuse such a deal?"

Jaquie grinned. "You can't."

Over the next few months Jaquie became very skilled at catching rare pokemon. Years of watching passing pokemon trainers train their pokemon had taught her which pokemon had above average talents and which were normal. Locating the pokemon was really no trouble either. In a strange city, the best way to find out where all the good pokemon lurked was to disguise herself as a pokemon trainer, ask a ton of questions, and keep her ears open. And if that didn't work, searching every square inch of the area did.

The real challenge was trying to catch pokemon. Jaquie had never really had experience with that, though she'd watched others do it often enough. Jaquie spent most of the first month just training her Nidoran boy.

_I'm beginning to see why so many trainers never make it to the top_, Jaquie wrote to her mother once. _This is hard! Much harder than it looks. But my Nidoran is getting stronger, and yesterday I almost caught a pokemon. I'll try again tomorrow._

Jaquie paused in her writing. She liked to write letters to her mother, telling of her day. They were short, and only somewhat personal, but she knew her mother would find reading them reassuring.

_Say hi to Jesse for me,_ she finished. _Don't let her forget me. Take care, both of you. Love, Jaquie._

She signed her name and folded the letter.

Despite the hard work, Jaquie found herself enjoying the challenge. Before too long she'd learned strategies for capturing pokemon. The best way to capture pokemon was to surprise them and press for a quick attack. Or, if that didn't work, she would tire them out until they surrendered into their pokeballs.

The first month alone, through extreme persistence, Jaquie caught an Abra, a Growlithe, a Vulpix, a Scyther, and a Pinser for Giovanni. "I should have more next week," she told him. "I'm just starting to get the hang of this."

During the next few months, Jaquie had an excellent time. She had absolute freedom; she could do whatever she wanted. Her skills as a trainer were getting better and better. Best of all, Jaquie was getting paid for this. The more pokemon she captured, the more money she made.

However, as she became better and better, it seemed that Giovanni demanded more of her. One day he called her into his office.

"I have noticed that pokemon reserves have gotten popular lately," he began in his slithery voice.

"Yes," said Jaquie briefly.

"They are filled with rare and valuable pokemon," he continued. "But no one is allowed to catch them. The fools who run the place think they can stop me from owning them."

"Come to the point," said Jaquie darkly. She did not like where this was going.

"My point is this: I want you to break into these reserves and steal those pokemon from me."

For a second, Jaquie felt like all the air around her had vanished. Her heart pounded loudly. It wasn't that she hadn't expected this, but to hear it out loud... Still, Jaquie was determine not to let Giovanni see it bothered her.

"Well," said Giovanni, curious at Jaquie's hesitation.

Jaquie straightened herself. "Why should I?" she asked. "I run the risk of getting in trouble with the law."

"But that's what Team Rocket is all about," grinned Giovanni.

"Well, it's not what I'm about," Jaquie shot back. "In case you've forgotten, I'm in here for the money, and I see no reason why I should do all that extra work..."

"I'll raise your salary."

Jaquie's eyes narrowed to slits. "How much?"

"I'll raise your monthly salary by 20 percent..."

"Hardly worth the trouble," said Jaquie dismissively.

"...and I'll pay you 50 percent of each pokemon's value. And believe me, those pokemon can be sold for quite a tidy sum."

Jaquie hated to admit it, but she was tempted. Her salary would increase enormously and all because...but no Jaquie wouldn't stoop to that. Her mother had always told her, "Jaquie, no matter what happens, never resort to stealing. No matter how bad things get, we can make it through it. But I don't want to have to call my baby a criminal." Jaquie wouldn't poach from the reserves. She needed to get out of this somehow.

"I'll think this over," she said slowly, delaying for time.

Giovanni could see that Jaquie was uncomfortable with the idea, but he was calm. Leaning back in his chair, Giovanni played his wild card. "I understand you're trying to save up to send your little sister to Pokemon Tech."

Jaquie looked up with sudden, renewed interest.

"It's a very exclusive school, very expensive. Imagine how easy it would be to get her through with a 20 percent monthly raise and 50 percent of profits."

"How did you know about my savings?" By lowering her voice, Jaquie was able to keep the emotion out of it. She was upset. How dare he invade her private life? But more than anger, Jaquie felt fear. How did Giovanni know this? She never told him anything about her family. She wanted them to have as little to do with Team Rocket as possible.

"Oh, I have my sources," said Giovanni, smiling with sly triumph. Jaquie turned pale inside. Was he watching her house? Was this supposed to be a threat? "By the way," Giovanni added, "how's the new medicine working for your mother? I hope she's feeling better than she was last week."

. . .

There was a pokemon reserve at Fushia. The large city attracted several tourist and it was no stretch for Jaquie to disguise herself as one. There were tour guides who showed visitors around the park. Jaquie talked to them incessively, like some air-headed student.

"I love pokemon," she said, grinning a dopey smile. "They are soooo cute. And some are really, really strong too."

Jaquie asked a million questions, most stupid, but a few with hidden meaning.

"How do you keep pokemon from escaping at night when no one can see them?" she asked.

The tour guide patiently explained the tall fences.

"But what if they break the fences? What if they all gang up and stomp the fences flat? Then the pokemon would escape and no one would know."

There was some laughter to this idiotic comment, but Jaquie just batted her eyes and acted extra ditzy.

"We have night guards," the amused guide clarified. "They patrol around the outside of the fences every night. They would know if the fence broke."

Bingo. Useful information.

Jaquie made her eyes go wide. "Ohhh." The crowd laughed again.

It was humiliating that she should have to act like an idiot. But Jaquie wanted no doubt as to her absolute innocence of the terrible situation about to occur. She even waited a week after her visit before she made her move.

Jaquie went during the night, veiled by the dark night. No one saw her as she slipped over the fence and into the pokemon reserve. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she focused on the task ahead. Creeping around the edges of the fence, she came to a low tree and climbed in it. Had it not been so dark, Jaquie would have had a good view of the place. Even in the dark she was able to see pokemon if they were close.

Tauros crept by the tree to feed. Jaquie saw her chance. She called out her Doduo, which she had captured some time ago, and had it fly towards the enemy. Away it went, past the tree, past the Tauros, close to the watch station in the middle of the reserve.

There it began to create quite a fuss. It would peck the sleeping pokemon mercilessly. Every time a pokemon tried to attack it, Doduo would dodge or flee to the sanctuary of the air. And all the time, it squawked and cried like a crazy thing. Scientists and guards from the watch tower awoke and made sleepy attempts to stop the crazy bird's rampage.

They certainly weren't paying any attention to a lone Tauros by a tree.

Jaquie sent out her Nidoran boy to pester the Tauros. The Tauros hollered just as loudly as the pokemon being attacked by Doduo, only now no one heard. As Nidoran weakened the Tauros, Jaquie called out Slowpoke. It took her an entire day just to find and capture the dumb thing, but she had a plan for it. Jaquie had managed to obtain the rare and expensive thunderwave T.M.-or technical machine-and Slowpoke could learn the attack.

Jaquie gave it the order, and Slowpoke let out a long yawn. After about two minutes-during which Nidoran struggled not to get tossed or trampled by the raging bull-Slowpoke finally bothered to attack. Tauros looked shocked as the thunderwave paralyzed it. It fell to its knees, making moaning noises. Jaquie threw a pokeball at it, and Tauros melted inside.

A few minutes later, Doduo flew to a new section of the park.

Jaquie had brought only twelve empty pokeballs with her but by the end of the night those twelve were filled. After she caught the pokemon, Jaquie climbed back over the fence and ran. She was not at all tired and instead felt like she had drunk twelve cups of coffee. She was thrilled and terrified and bursting with suppressed energy. She fled to the hotel room she was staying at.

For a few minutes she gasped for air, feeling nothing but excitement. Then, the realization of what she had done hit her like a wave. Jaquie shook; she went into the bathroom and threw up.

The next night Jaquie caught twelve more pokemon without attracting any attention. She jogged home and felt giddy and queasy, but she didn't throw up. By the third night, Jaquie calmly walked back to her hotel room and felt neither excitement nor guilt.

But by the end of the third night, people had caught on to what Jaquie was doing. The fourth night, Jaquie found that there were guards scouting the perimeter and the scientists were on alert. Jaquie didn't go back. She had done enough.

Giovanni was delighted, as much by the commotion Jaquie had stirred up as by the 36 rare pokemon. "This is excellent work. You are the best."

_Yes_, thought Jaquie bitterly. _The best._

She didn't know why she always tried so hard, even in situations she didn't want to be in. It was partly her ambition. Jaquie wanted to prove to the whole world how great a pokemon trainer she was. It was partly pride. But it was also something else inside her that wouldn't let her settle for less. Jaquie had to be the best at everything. It was not acceptable to be otherwise.

Jaquie spent months poaching, in addition to capturing rare and wild pokemon. It was exhilarating and terrible, but Jaquie didn't mind so much any more. The only thing that mattered was the fat pay check she was receiving. Jaquie had managed to save enough to send her sister to a fancy boarding school for pokemon trainers, pay for her mother's new medicine, and completely refurnish their house.

She didn't see her family much, but she did write them short, censored letters and received letters back. To her delight, the new medicine seemed to be working. Her mother was actually improving. She'd be well soon.

It was the only thing going right.

It wasn't long before pokemon reserve owners became cautious. Security was at an all time high, and Jaquie was having trouble poaching from the reserves. When Giovanni asked her to meet with him, she felt sure he was going to throw that in her face.

Instead he just smiled. "I'm extremely pleased with your work," he told her. "You have done well. It isn't every member of Team Rocket that can scare pokemon reserves into more than doubling their security."

Jaquie straightened in pride.

"However, I have noticed that you've been returning with fewer and fewer pokemon these past few months."

Jaquie glared at him sullenly. "Yeah, well, you said it yourself. There's a tighter security. It's not so easy to go in anymore-"

Giovanni cut her off. "It matters little to me whether you capture reserve pokemon or not anymore."

Jaquie's eyes were probing. "No? And why's that? Don't tell me you've suddenly lost interest."

Giovanni made a sly smile. This was why he liked Jaquie so much. She was pure Team Rocket material: clever, wary, suspicious.

"It matters little to me," he continued coolly, "since you will be spending your time stealing pokemon from trainers."

"What makes you think I will be stealing anything?" replied Jaquie, with equal coolness.

The idea bothered her. Giovanni could see that in her calm, infuriating attitude. That was the one thing about her that bothered him: she was squeamish about crimes.

"You will have unlimited use of the weapons and equipment," he said/

"Not interested."

"You will continue to receive half the pokemon's value in profits."

"Sorry."

"I will triple your salary."

At that Jaquie paused, then her eyes slowly narrowed to slits. "Why are stolen pokemon worth so much to you anyway?"

"Stolen pokemon are better trained. They're stronger than normal pokemon and know better attacks. They're more valuable."

"If they would obey, they would be more valuable," said Jaquie, voice hinting triumph. "But stolen pokemon are loyal to their trainers. They won't obey and they always try to escape."

"My scientists have invented a drug," smiled Giovanni. "It erases part of a pokemon's memory, so the pokemon thinks I'm its new master. The pokemon are quite loyal and obedient to me."

Jaquie couldn't think of a reply to that.

"So," said Giovanni, "do we have a deal?"

Jaquie remained silent still, her bright eyes burning at Giovanni.

Giovanni relaxed in his chair. "Perhaps," he suggested, "stealing other trainers pokemon is too difficult a job for one person alone. Perhaps you could use a partner. I hear that your younger sister isn't doing too well in Pokemon Tech. Maybe she'd be better off with you. She could be your partner."

"The last thing I want," growled Jaquie, "is for my idiot sister tagging along and getting in my way. Why do you think I sent her to Pokemon Tech? To get her away from me!"

. . .

Jaquie considered capturing wild pokemon, training them a little, then passing them off as stolen pokemon. It didn't work though; the captured pokemon didn't resist Giovanni's control the way stolen ones did, and Giovanni immediately became suspicious.

It was obvious that Giovanni didn't want stolen pokemon because they were particularly valuable. He didn't even sell them, but rather trained the pokemon himself in secret. Jaquie knew that what Giovanni loved was the power of turning the pokemon's stubborn resistance into slavish submission. He loved the total control he exhibited over the pokemon. Giovanni was power-crazed.

And it was not only pokemon he loved to control.

Jaquie hated stealing pokemon. It was ten times worse than poaching pokemon from reserves and ten times more difficult. It left Jaquie tired, moody, and sickened. She didn't write much to her mother anymore, and when she did, it was more exaggeration than truth; Jaquie never mentioned stealing anywhere in the letters.

It was as though Jaquie had two lives: one firmly embedded in Team Rocket and one just as firmly planted in her family. It was important that these worlds never collide-then she'd be forced to choose between one or the other. She couldn't imagine life without her family, but at the same time she couldn't give up her job at Team Rocket- her paycheck was the only thing that kept the family going. As long as Giovanni stayed away from her family everything would be fine. Maybe if she kept him happy he would just leave her personal life alone.

Besides, stealing pokemon had its rewards. Jaquie was was now rich.

She had bought her mother a new house. It wasn't large or lavish (Jaquie's mom didn't want anything fancy), but it was quaint and comfortable, and Jaquie would go there whenever life became too stressful, whenever she needed a vacation. Her mom was healthy-the medicine had done its job-and Jesse's schooling was paid for. Usually home was relaxing and peaceful. Jaquie's mother would spoil her with attention, and they'd talk and talk.

Tonight, however, something was wrong. Jaquie's mother was unusually quiet, and she wouldn't look at her daughter. It wasn't until the early evening, after dinner, that she spoke; her voice was low. "A police officer came to the house today."

Jaquie kept her expression one of casual interest, but inside her chest her heart was beating rapidly.

"The officer said that many witnesses saw you in town right before a crime took place. She also told me that one victims identified you as the one who stole their pokemon. She accused you of being a thief and a member of Team Rocket."

"You denied it right?" Jaquie held her breath.

"I was furious," said her mother with a grim chuckle. "I yelled at the cop for even daring to think my baby would ever commit a crime. I assured her of your innocence, then threw her out."

Silently, Jaquie let out her breath.

"After she left, I calmed down," continued her mother, "and I began to think." Her mother stared very seriously into Jaquie's eyes; Jaquie flinched and looked downward. "Jaquie, you have made more money than I ever thought I'd see in my life. Up until now, I've never questioned your methods. I've trusted that your motives were good and honest. But now I have to ask you this." Jaquie's mom's voice was gentle, but stern. "Are you a criminal?"

. . .

Giovanni was pleased. He didn't know why, but Jaquie had suddenly become very submerged in the task of stealing pokemon for him.

He had had his doubts at first. Jaquie hadn't gotten off to the greatest start. She brought him a few stolen pokemon, but mostly, it seemed, for the sake of show. Her heart wasn't in the task; she merely wanted to prove she had been working.

Then, with a sudden jolt, Jaquie came to life as a thief. Her caution was gone, replaced by cockiness. There was no holding her back. She stole tons of pokemon, many of them exceptionally strong. She finally achieved her full potential; now she was everything a Team Rocket member should be.

Between the before and after, Giovanni only had a vague idea of what happened. He knew, from his spies, that Jaquie had gotten into a fierce argument with her mother. Though he didn't know what words were exchanged, he did have an idea that the topic of debate was Jaquie's career as a criminal. He knew the ending of the argument; Jaquie had stormed out and hadn't returned.

Whatever remained of the once strong bond she had with her family must have been at last sheared off with that argument. Her family had held her back for so long, and now that Jaquie had shrugged them off, there was nothing to stand in her way.

As Giovanni marveled at Jaquie's amazingly competent powers as a criminal he was suddenly struck with a thought. If she could make it this far, why not others? Jaquie had brought him an enormous amount of pokemon, but still he wanted more. He wanted power, he wanted control, he wanted more pokemon than Jaquie by herself ever could provide. But imagine an army of Rocket members just like her. Imagine dozens of Jaquies bringing him countless amounts of pokemon. He would be unstoppable with such an army. He could rule the world.

He considered. Though the idea was certainly tempting, how could he possibly carry it out? Jaquie herself had taken years to perfect her skills, and she was brimming with potential. What's more, she had a strong desire to capture pokemon-greed. Yet others might not be the same-they might take longer and not be as good. How could he take all of Jaquie's talent and learning ability, photocopy it, and hand it to other members?

Of course! The answer was obvious. He would open a school, a school to train recruits to steal and capture pokemon.

He told Jaquie about it the next time he saw her.

"I will select a group of young Team Rocket members with high potential to be trained to steal and capture pokemon as you do-individually, without my supervision. Of course they will receive some of the privileges you receive: a higher salary, unlimited use of supplies, etc. But before they do all that, they need to be taught."

"So what you want is basically a school to teach children to be independent criminals," translated Jaquie. "Like me."

Giovanni nodded. "Precisely."

"And since," continued Jaquie, pacing the room like an agile jungle cat, "they are to be like me, I suppose that I am the one who's going to teach them?"

There was no denying this. Giovanni had thought of using someone else, but since no one really knew anything about Jaquie's techniques, she would have to be the one to fill the job. "You will be the teacher, yes."

Jaquie paused for effect and made a cool smile. "What's in it for me?"

Giovanni returned the smile. "As of now you are, by far, the richest member of Team Rocket. None of the others even come close. There is not much more I can offer to you, salary wise. I can, however offer you power. Remember when you first joined and I first said I was looking for a partner?"

Jaquie nodded. "You were lying though," she pointed out.

"Of course I was. I had no intention of sharing power then. But now, Team Rocket will begin expansion. We will have more young twerps to watch out for. For that I need you."

"Naturally, but what do I get out of it?"

"As my partner and the second highest in command, Team Rocket will be partially run by you. You may command whichever troops you like. You may start your own special projects. Absolutely every resource Team Rocket has will be at your utter disposal. Besides me, you will be the only other boss these brats take orders from."

Jaquie pondered the matter and a mischievous glint awakened in her eyes. "We have a deal then. I train your troops, and I command them. Pretty simple."

Giovanni nodded. As a partner, Jaquie would be a valuable asset, especially once his master plan succeeded and the world belonged to him.

. . .

Fwapp. Jaquie's whip cracked in the air, signaling the start of her school. Boys and girls, in neat rows of desks, snapped to attention immediately. Jaquie had trained them well.

With a smile of poisonous sweetness, Jaquie addressed the class.

"Good morning children. To begin the day, get with your partners and recite the motto." Her tone sounded cheerful and almost teacherly, but the class knew better. They hurried to obey, realizing that Jaquie's act might disappear at any moment.

Jaquie watched as the class paired off. Jaquie had insisted that each child have a partner, and when Giovanni had reminded her that she had always worked alone, Jaquie replied that she was a special case. Most children, she explained, needed someone to help them out, as back up at the very least. Besides, once the children learned to cooperate, they would be more productive. In the end, Giovanni granted her point, and Jaquie began evaluating the children's strengths and weaknesses and putting them in groups of two.

Now that they were with their partner, the children stood up and began reciting their motto. "Prepare for trouble, Make it double..." they chirped in unison.

The motto was a clever tactic that Jaquie had thought up. By repeating the motto, Jaquie had explained, the students would learn unquestioning loyalty to Team Rocket. That would brainwash the little twerps into doing whatever Giovanni told them to do.

When they had finished, Jaquie began her lecture. "Today," she said, far too nicely, "we will be learning about weapons." She could all but hear the silent groan from the students. They had been learning about weapons for the past six months. "As you know," she continued, "Giovanni has provided us with many different kinds of weapons. In the world of crime, you cannot rely on weapons enough. Mastering weapons use will be important if you wish to be a member of Team Rocket." She smiled again.

"But-" piped up a student in the back.

Jaquie slammed her hand down on the desk. The resounding noise echoed throughout the room. "You have a question?"Jaquie snapped, glaring darkly at the student.

The boy promptly swallowed his remark.

"Good," said Jaquie, once again pleasant. Her smile was sunny even as she tapped her whip ominously against the palm of her hand. "Now to begin this lecture-"

Here Jaquie was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. Frowning, Jaquie opened it and crossed her arms irritably when she saw who stood there.

The Team Rocket grunt was dressed in his plain, low-ranking uniform. Accompanying him were two kids, but Jaquie barely glanced at them. Instead she gave the Rocket grunt a bored stare. "Well...?"

"Two new members for the Team Rocket School."

"Is that why you interrupted my class?" said Jaquie, each word emphasizing the contempt she felt for him. "You break into the middle of my lesson just to tell me that you found two more worthless recruits..." Jaquie tilted her head to indicate the worthless recruits, and that was when she got her first real look at them.

The boy was nothing special: messy violet hair and green eyes. But the girl... Jaquie stopped mid-insult to stare, her countenance showcasing her disbelief.

"Jesse?"

. . .

Giovanni had not expected to see Jaquie storm into his office in the middle of the morning when she was supposed to be teaching a lesson.

"Jaquie, what are you-?"

"Why is Jesse in my school?" demanded Jaquie, not even trying to disguise her anger.

"Who?"

"My baby sister!"

Giovanni didn't like Jaquie's tone, and he certainly wasn't used to seeing her lose her temper. Still, he answered in a smooth, placid voice. "She ran away from Pokemon Tech. Apparently, she wasn't doing well there-"

"I know that! Why is she in my class?"

"We found her in a bike gang. She's the perfect recruit: she's young, she's impressionable, she's rebellious-"

"SHE'S MY SISTER!" Jaquie exploded.

"I remind you to whom you're speaking," said Giovanni sternly. Jaquie may have been second in command, but he was the boss, and Jaquie had no authority to yell at him like that.

Jaquie struggled to control her anger, and Giovanni continued. "As I was saying, she is the perfect recruit." He looked at Jaquie with seeming innocence. "Is there any reason why she shouldn't be in your school?"

"You don't know Jesse the way I know her," said Jaquie. Her voice had gone cold and was rigid, but her anger still vibrated off her body, still blazed in her eyes. "My sister is an incompetent brat who ruins everything in her path. She is a disgrace to my family, and I am ashamed to call her my flesh and blood. Some of these recruits you've sent me have very little talent as it is, but I refuse, I absolutely refuse, to teach someone who can only disgrace the name of Team Rocket. Send her away; I want nothing to do with her."

Giovanni suspected that she wasn't being completely truthful. While it was apparent that Jaquie wanted her little sister out of her life-Jaquie had been feverently clear on that-Giovanni didn't believe that the reason she gave to him was her true feelings.

"Are you afraid of your sister? Do you think she has talents that could rival yours? Are you afraid she could surpass you?"

Jaquie crossed her arms. "Jesse has no talents," she said stonily.

But something about her reply rang false, and Giovanni was sure he had found the reason. For she was afraid, of something, and of what else, but that her sister would usurp her? Jaquie was competitive; she always had to be the best. What could frighten her more than having her own little sister beat her?

It was delicious. Finally, a competitor for Jaquie.

"I'll take her out of your school," he said. "You won't have to teach her. I'll train her myself."

At this Jaquie stiffened considerably. "No."

"You might try to ruin her talent. I don't trust you."

"I'm telling you that Jesse is useless. But if you don't believe me that's fine. I'll prove it to you. I'll train her like I would any other student. I'll give her the best training. If you don't trust me, then feel free to drop in at any time. Feel free to watch all day, feel free to send in your spies. You'll see. She will fail, just like she failed Pokemon Tech, because my sister does not possess one-tenth the talent I do. Jesse will never surpass me."

This was exactly what Giovanni wanted. He had no time or desire to train a little brat. He knew if he prodded Jaquie enough, she would agree to train her. Jaquie had far to much pride to let him accuse her of being threatened by her sister.

Not that he trusted Jaquie completely; he certainly would spy on her and carefully record every move she made. And if Jaquie proved untrustworthy, Giovanni would simply take Jaquie out of the school and replace her with someone else.

"Teach her then," he told her offhandedly.

"I will." Jaquie's eyes were grimly determined. "I'll train her, and you'll find no faults with my methods. But when she wrecks everything you've ever built, don't say I didn't warn you."

. . .

Now Giovanni could see what she was talking about. Jesse had become a miserable failure. She and her partners James and Meowth had ruined just about everything he let them touch and had made a laughingstock out of the Team Rocket name. He'd given them chance after chance, hoping their immaturity would wear off. But nothing had changed, and now Giovanni had even lost his precious pet cat.

"You're all fired!" Giovanni yelled at them. "Get out of my office!"

The girl, the boy, and the cat stood frozen in shock. Then, at once, they began to plead and babble like the pathetic losers they were. Giovanni had no patience for them. With a push of a button, he had them "escorted" out.

Giovanni put his hand to his head. The Team Rocket School was a complete failure. Jesse and James were the worst of the bunch for sure, but none of the students were particularly successful. They spent more time arguing with each other and reciting that stupid motto than catching pokemon. None of them had acquired any of the subtle battle strategies of Jaquie. Not one had caught as many pokemon as Jaquie had, not the whole lot put together!

"So, you finally fired my sister," Jaquie said, stepping out from the back corner of the room, where the room's darkness had concealed her. She smiled triumphantly. "I knew you would someday."

Jaquie often lied to Giovanni. Right now, for example, she told him how sorry she was that the school hadn't worked out the way he planned. She wasn't sorry at all. In truth, she couldn't be more delighted.

Oh, she had started out being honest enough. She told him the truth when he asked of her motives for joining Team Rocket. She had been in it for the money. She had not been in it to lie, steal, and corrupt little children.

But she had gone along with his plans. She realized that her life didn't really matter; all that had mattered was keeping her family safe and well and away from the struggles of poverty. For them, she had sacrificed her life. For them, she had given up her future. For them, she had sunk deeper into the ranks of Team Rocket, climbing the latter of success, keeping Giovanni unaware of her discontent. It didn't matter any more. Her life was already in disarray, her reputation tarnished. How could she possibly go any lower?

Surprisingly, Jaquie had found a cause in the Team Rocket School. She had worked faithfully to turn her students into complete and utter failures. Her methods had been subtle: pairing them with incompatible partners, building their overdependence on weapons, brainwashing them from any creative, independent thought. To Giovanni she was enforcing rational lessons with militaristic discipline; he could not trace the students' failure to her.

Now Jaquie had a new mission. She would take over Team Rocket. She would strip Giovanni from his position of authority, cast him aside, and take over his rule. Not because she was ambitious or power-hungry. Because she wanted Giovanni to suffer. She wanted him to know what it felt like to lose everything that ever mattered to him.

For it was one thing for him to ruin her life-she surrendered that power to him the moment she joined Team Rocket. But it was quite another to force Jaquie's own little sister-whom Jaquie had had such high hopes for-to do the exact same thing. He had no right to come near her family. He had no right to take away Jesse's future. And he certainly had no right to force Jaquie to be the one to corrupt her.

He would pay! She would make him pay!

One day, soon, she would tear away his entire world, she would crush his dreams, and shatter his hopes-just like he had done to her.

. . .

. . .

Author's Note: Sorry for the lack of proper hyphens. I can't seem to get my computer to do them this time around. A new chapter will come next week. Promptly, I hope. Please review and tell me what you think.


	3. Chapter 1: The Best of the Best

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly **(aka** Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 1

**The Best of the Best**

****. . .

. . .

Jaquie looked over the terrified faces gathered in Giovanni's headquarters. Ten people all together, all wearing the black Team Rocket uniform. Jaquie knew each and every one of them by name. She had been their teacher; she had brought about their "rise." Now she would bring about their fall.

With great flourish, Jaquie took out a list of names and began taking attendance. Giovanni glared at his employees in stony silence. Each one of them shuddered-they knew this would be bad. Once everyone was accounted for, Jaquie spoke.

"First of all," Jaquie said in a cheerful voice that hinted nothing of the trouble the Team Rocket disciples were in, "I'd like to inform you that there are two members of Team Rocket who are no longer with us. You all know Jesse and James, correct?"

The crowd murmured. Oh yes, they knew the bumbling duo who, along with their pokemon Meowth, had gotten on their boss's bad side more times than was safe.

"Of course you know them," Jaquie acknowledged. "They were in your class and took the same training as you, but sadly, they have been fired. They were a total failure at catching and stealing pokemon, and they raised a huge bill by wrecking our equipment and Giovanni's gym." Jaquie grinned. "They cost us far more than they brought in. You understand, of course, why we had to let them go."

By this time, the crowd seemed very uncomfortable. They knew that they weren't much more successful than Jesse and James.

With her pseudo-cheerful voice, Jaquie began to read a list of the profits and the expenses the members had earned for Team Rocket. The expenses piled up, and the profits, in turn, were few. The Team Rocket members got the picture; they were more trouble than they were worth.

They shifted uneasily in the room. Jaquie at last stopped reading, and, with one final smile, backed away from them. Giovanni stood up; by now the group was quivering.

"Pitiful. That's what you are: pitiful." His gaze was mercilessly hard. "Everyone here is demoted. From now on, you will exist only as the lowly, servile members of Team Rocket. You will go where I tell you, dress as I tell you, and never recite that stupid motto again!

"There will be no protests," Giovanni continued. "You will do as you are told or you will join Jesse and James at the unemployment office."

That thought promptly sealed the lips of every person in the group. Team Rocket had become the only life they knew; they didn't want to lose it. Besides, everyone there was wanted by the police, and if they left Team Rocket, they would be easy prey.

Jaquie gave them instructions for their new assignments, and the crowd walked out, grumbling to themselves. For a while Jaquie and Giovanni remained there. Giovanni was silent in deep thought, perhaps musing over the group's failure. As long as he didn't find out that Jaquie, the teacher of these members, was behind their failure, Jaquie didn't really care what he was thinking.

She herself was delighted. Out of the sixteen graduating students she had taught, twelve of them had managed to lose money for Team Rocket and had just been demoted. Two more had just barely broke even and one pair... well, two out of sixteen wasn't too bad.

Giovanni would be disappointed but she could deal with that. She expected him to yell and rage. She was actually quite surprised when he looked up from his reverie and said in a normal voice, "I have a mission for you."

"What sort of mission?"

"I have discovered an island filled with rare and valuable pokemon-"

"I'll go right away," said Jaquie, but Giovanni continued on.

"I want you to lead an expedition there. You and three others will trap and catch pokemon and tell me an estimated value."

Jaquie crossed her arms. "You know I work best alone."

"This island is quite dangerous, even for you."

"I can handle it."

"Not by yourself." Jaquie started to protest, but Giovanni cut her off. "Be assured, you will not be working with brainless fools like those idiots I just demoted. I have personally selected your teammates myself. You will not be disappointed."

Jaquie could see from Giovanni's grim countenance that arguing would be no use. She made a brief nod of acceptance, wondering, for the thousandth time, what good her title as Giovanni's partner really was, when it was so clear that they were not considered equal. No matter what promises he made, Giovanni still reigned over Jaquie, giving her orders she was expected to obey.

"This mission is important," emphasized Giovanni. "I want only the best."

"And who qualifies for that honor?" Jaquie asked. There was her, of course; Jaquie was without doubt that she was _the_ best-it was a title that had forever been plastered to her. Jaquie was a bit curious, however, as to who else would be going with her on this mission, though she did have an idea.

"I will introduce you to your teammates tomorrow. I'll explain the details of your voyage this afternoon, if you want. But for now, you will be going on this mission as leader of the group, are we agreed?"

"Agreed," Jaquie said casually, then turned her back towards him. She would go on his little mission. It didn't matter. Soon she'd be the one running Team Rocket; what was one last mission to her?

. . .

That night, as she lay in bed in her apartment, Jaquie wondered whether being sent to this strange isle was a good thing or a bad. Giovanni had told her the stories of strong and mysterious pokemon that lurked there; this had the potential to either speed up Jaquie's plan or delay it.

Jaquie's dream of taking over Team Rocket had been delayed four years ago when Giovanni had revealed his genetic marvel: the pokemon Mewtwo. Just that one pokemon had the power to single-handedly take down every weapon, trap, and pokemon that Jaquie could pit against it. Even after its escape, Jaquie had remained cautious. She had talked with the science department's project managers to find out about any experiments and advances they were making; she had made sure that every "secret" mission was known to her. That was one good thing about being at the top of the Team Rocket hierarchy-all information was at her disposal if only she chose to ask. And she did. If Giovanni had powers unknown to her, it was best to discover them and evaluate them before pressing a confrontation.

Four years later, and now Jaquie knew more about Team Rocket than Giovanni knew himself. Now Giovanni's main criminal force had crumbled, his allies were weak, and his money was stretched too far to cover his expenses. Giovanni was vulnerable; now was the time to strike.

Except that now Giovanni had a little mission for her, and it was a mission that he wouldn't just let her refuse. Jaquie hadn't minded when she thought that it would be a week sort of deal, but now Giovanni informed her that she would be away for two months-two months without access to all of her sources.

She could just attack him now before the mission got underway, but that didn't leave her any time to come up with a good plan of attack. It wasn't that Jaquie was afraid she would lose-she never really lost any battle before-but she wasn't about to get cocky. Giovanni had an army of pokemon at his command-Jaquie had only four. So she would not attack now, but would wait until the mission was over.

Possibly, these pokemon could help her. If they were really as strong as Giovanni was claiming-and he was claiming quite a bit-then capturing and training a few of them could only strengthen her plan and further ensure her victory. On the other hand, after the trip, she was expected to hand over what she caught to Giovanni. So she could either hand them over then-giving him an unthinkable advantage-or she could attack him on the way back.

The real problem was not Giovanni, but the other members of the team that Giovanni had prepared to go with her. Jaquie could probably count on them to be loyal to Giovanni since most of Team Rocket hated her-she who ordered them around, but did not sign their paychecks. And if these members were able to capture pokemon on that island too, Jaquie would have them to worry about. So it all came down to the strength of the pokemon and how the members would react.

Jaquie could decide later what course of action to take. For now, it was late and she was tired. She yawned, rolled on her side, and fell asleep.

. . .

The next morning, as promised, Giovanni introduced her to the members of her team that she would be leading to this new, strange island.

"Kris," Giovanni said, and Kris stood up. He was just like she remembered him: a tall, strong, confident young man with long, greenish-brown hair that he kept tied up in back. "Kris has become one of the best fighters we have. His pokemon are also strong attackers, and he's good at using weapons and building traps, etc. He should be very useful on the trip."

"Karen," Giovanni said, and she stood. Karen had a look about her that was very frail and innocent-and incidentally very deceptive. She was small and slender with fair skin and two yellow curls that dripped above her eyes. "Karen is a master of disguise and an escape artist. She, too, is well versed on weapons use, and is quite a skilled battler.

"Karen and Kris are partners," said Giovanni, pointing out the obvious. Neither Kris nor Karen had sat back down, but were still standing jauntily in front of the small conference. "Between the two of them, they have come up with some decent strategies ad have caught quite a bit of pokemon." Giovanni nodded and they both sat down together, almost as if on cue.

Jaquie knew them both; she had taught them in her school. They were Giovanni's only success and her only failure.

"Jared," continued Giovanni, and Jared rose to his feet. He had neatly cut brown hair, gray eyes, and glasses. This one Jaquie didn't recognize; neither it seemed did Karen and Kris. "Jared works in Team Rocket's science department. He is a new member, but he is very versatile: he can put together weapons and also has experience in the medical field." Jared sat back down a little uncertainly.

"And, of course, you all know Jaquie." Jaquie didn't stand up, but remained seated, poised and confident. "Jaquie is second in command of Team Rocket, and she will be your expedition leader." Karen and Kris groaned faintly. "I'm not sure if you're familiar with her Jared, so I'll give you a brief description: Jaquie is the best. At everything.

"Now," said Giovanni, through with his little introduction, "this island needs to be discussed. I have maps and charts with directions that can lead you to it, but there is still a problem in getting to it. Surrounding the island the in every direction are fierce storms. These storms make it all but impossible for any boat, plane, helicopter, or pokemon to get to the island."

"So how do we get there?" asked Karen skeptically.

Jaquie grinned. She had already discussed this part with Giovanni and had come up with the perfect plan. "We use a combination of both. First we take a boat, then we get our pokemon to take us the rest of the way."

"My pokemon could take me through any storm anyway," bragged Kris. "Why do we need the boat?"

"Because we have to take supplies with us," explained Jaquie. "I doubt that any one pokemon, however strong, will be able to carry two months' supply of food, heavy artillery, a couple hundred pokeballs, and extensive medical equipment through rough and stormy seas. Not even a team of well-trained Gyradose could do that."

"But what if," Jared said, a bit abashed, "you don't have any water pokemon?" Karen nodded in agreement.

"We can share," Jaquie said offhandedly. "Karen, I'm sure you already share Kris' pokemon, and Jared can use my Slowbro. Water pokemon aren't really important anyway, unless there's an emergency. Like I said water pokemon will have a hard time carrying the equipment to the island." Jaquie paused. "Psychic pokemon on the other hand..."

The group murmured approval. They all understood.

"But I have a question," said Karen. "What kind of pokemon is it that we're risking our life for here? I don't mind facing storms and rough waves, but I would like to know exactly what it is we'll be dealing with on the island."

Karen turned to Jaquie for an explanation. She shrugged and looked at Giovanni expectantly. Giovanni grinned.

"Jared," he said, looking to the young scientist, "I think its time we show them the one pokemon that was caught on the island."

. . .

The lab looked pretty much like what you'd expect: clean, whitewashed walls, tables with microscopes in neat rows, and even a shelf with labeled pokeballs. Jaquie had been in labs before and found that they were usually messier, so obviously they'd been expected and the lab had been straightened out before they came.

In the center of the room there was a glass case containing a single, ordinary pokeball. Jared opened the case and carefully took it out.

"The sailors who found the island managed to catch exactly one pokemon before they left. This is it." He held up the pokeball proudly. "It took them nearly thirty tries, and that was after the pokemon had been paralyzed and weakened considerably."

Jared threw down the pokeball, and everyone was disappointed by the pokemon that popped out. Perhaps slightly larger than the normal ones, perhaps slightly healthier, it was a Caterpie nonetheless.

"It took thirty pokeballs to capture _that_?" Karen said with disgust.

"We'd better not be going all this way to an island filled with worthless worm Caterpies. My Charmeleon could toast them all for lunch."

Jared shook his head. "No, there are other pokemon, too. The sailors claimed that the jungles on the island were swarming with all sorts of rare pokemon; it's just that none of them dared wander much farther than the beach. The beach is where they captured the Caterpie. And if you think its so easy to beat, Kris, then why don't you try to battle it?"

"That Caterpie against my Charmeleon? You have got to be kidding."

Jared shrugged. "Why not?"

Across the hall was a miniature stadium for fighting battles. That's where Kris called out his Charmeleon. "Fire Rage," he said, using its nickname, "go!" Charmeleon came out, a bright red fire lizard.

Jared placed Caterpie across from Charmeleon and stepped back.

"Aren't you even going to command it?" Kris asked, and Jared shook his head.

"This will be too easy," Kris said. "Fire Rage, flamethrower attack!"

Charmeleon gathered fire in its mouth, threw back his head, and spouted a stream of fire at the defenseless worm pokemon. Caterpie waited until the flames were about a foot in front of it. Suddenly, right in front of the fire, a wall popped up. The flames bounced harmlessly off, and Caterpie was unharmed.

"What the..." began Kris.

"Kris," Jared said calmly, "your Charmeleon wouldn't happen to know reflect, would it?"

"Yeah, it does, but Caterpies can't..."

Caterpie attacked. In a sudden burst of flames, a fire blast attack hurtled into Charmeleon. Caterpie was still a weak pokemon, and even the strongest fire attack couldn't do much damage. Nevertheless, it was enough to send Charmeleon falling to the ground. He got back up quickly, but Jared's point was made. He called back Caterpie quickly, before Charmeleon could do any damage to it.

"But that's crazy!" exclaimed Karen. "Caterpies can't learn fire attacks. They can't even use attacks that can teach them fire attacks. All Caterpies can ever learn are string shot and tackle."

"This Caterpie can learn much more," said Jared. "We tested its attacks in the laboratory, and it seems that, in addition to string shot and tackle, Caterpie also knows recover and mimic."

Once over his amazement, Kris too withdrew his pokemon. He shook his head in disbelief. "I've seen mimic, and that was not mimic. Not a normal mimic anyway."

Jared nodded. "Caterpie's mimic can copy all of Charmeleon's attacks, not just the one it happens to be using. And did you see the way it used reflect, instead of slash or something? These pokemon are smart. They're almost human-like." Jared seemed to remember something that disturbed him, and his face turned dark. He muttered something in a quiet voice that Jaquie just barely caught. "It was crying when it came here."

"So, what do you think," said Giovanni. He had been quietly observing Jared's entire presentation, and his eyes shone with fiery delight. "Are pokemon like these worth capturing to you?"

"If one Caterpie can do that..." began Karen, her voice trailing off. She didn't need to continued. Everyone else was thinking the exact same thing. _If one pokemon could do that, imagine what other, stronger pokemon could do_.

"We'd be unstoppable," Giovanni said simply. "These pokemon, like the one you see, will not be easy to defeat. They're strong, smart, and full of surprises. As far as pokemon go, they are the best of the best, the strongest of the strong."

_Yes,_ thought Jaquie,_ and how easy it would be to take over Team Rocket with pokemon like those._

"To counter the best they have, I am sending my best," Giovanni said, continuing his speech. "Jared. Karen. Kris. Jaquie. To defeat them you will have to be stronger, smarter, and even more full of surprises than they are. But all of you have that talent within you. As far as Team Rocket members go, you are the best of the best. You are the only ones I trust enough to capture these pokemon."

_Oh, I can capture pokemon, all righ_t, thought Jaquie. _But all the same, you shouldn't trust me_.


	4. Chapter 2: The Best of the Best and

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 2

**The Best of the Best... and Jesse and James**

. . .  
. . .

Jaquie stood on the pier where the Team Rocket boat was being loaded. Her eyes scanned over the checklist in her hand.

"Food," she called out.

"Check." A regular member of Team Rocket carried the large boxes into the sleek boat.

"Tools."

"Check."

"Medical and scientific equipment."

"Check." It was Jared who answered this time. He had personally supervised the equipment's shipment into the boat.

"Weapons."

"Double check." Karen and Kris guarded over their weapons like Jared guarded over his science equipment.

"Pokeballs."

"They were the first thing in that boat," Jared confirmed. "Two hundred and seventy-five super-strength pokeballs capable of catching just about anything this island throws at us."

"They sure were heavy enough," Kris complained. He had been on detail to carry the crates of pokeballs into the boat, him being one of the two Team Rocket members strong enough to carry them. "There were five boxes, and they weighed about a ton each."

Karen rolled her eyes. "Quit whining Kris. I was there lifting those crates, too." Karen was the other member with enough strength to load the crates into the ship. For someone who looked so petite, she was deceptively strong.

Jaquie looked at Karen and Kris and shook her head in slight puzzlement. It was incredible that two such people managed to get along so well. They had been complete opposites, from the minute they walked into Jaquie's school: Kris, a tough, brash former-gang member from a middle class family; Karen a sassy, prissy poor-little-rich girl who had run away from home. Jaquie had put them together, thinking they would never get along, and thus, never be very effective at capturing pokemon. She had never even considered the fact that they were two very capable pupils with a lot of talent for capturing pokemon. And even though they still argued most of the time, somehow they still managed to cooperate. It was amazing.

Jared had been explaining why the enhanced strength pokeballs were vital to the trip, while Karen and Kris gazed at him with blank, bored expressions. "They may be large and heavy and a nuisance, but they're much more effective at capturing pokemon. If we were to use regular pokeballs, we'd have to take about a thousand of them with us."

Jaquie looked over the rest of the list. "We're ready," she declared. "Let's go."

"I am ready!" shouted Kris jubilantly, like a high schooler greeting the first day of a long summer vacation. Karen rolled her eyes again, this time in exasperation. "Just lead me to the helm!"

"I still can't believe _he's_ the one who's going to be driving," muttered Jared.

Kris didn't even hear him. He was too busy running towards the ship, ready to sail through the adventurous waters. Karen, on the other hand, did hear Jared's rude remark.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, facing Jared, hands on hips.

"I just mean, that Kris is kind of reckless," explained Jared. To his credit, his voice didn't waver, even under Karen's scowl.

"Is that what you think?" Karen's voice had a sarcastic edge to it, and her eye's had narrowed into slits. Karen's pose was suddenly very intimidating, as if she had become taller and stronger than usual, with far more control. Jaquie recognized this stance; she was going into bullying mode.

"Yes, that's what I think,"Jared said. His voice was normal and sincere, but his stance was stiff, like a soldier, unflinching at the sign of danger.

Jaquie could see the argument forming and was not about to let a fight rip the group apart before the expedition even began. "Karen, Jared, we are leaving. And if you two don't stop standing there, Kris will have already left before we get on board."

Karen still glared at Jared, but they walked aboard the ship without saying another word to each other. This was partially because Jaquie walked with them, and her presence was a strict reminder that they all had to get along.

So Karen joined Kris at the helm, and Jared and Jaquie studied the maps as the navigators, and the first part of the ocean voyage went smoothly. For all Kris' immaturity, he was a good sailor and possessed amazing powers of concentration when he chose to use them. Jared had been stupid to open his mouth and express his doubts. Not only had he been proved wrong, but now he had earned Karen's hostility.

After two hours of smooth sailing, Kris had run into storms. Since they were the tempests which continually surrounded the island, this meant that they were right on course. According to Jaquie and Jared's calculations, they had come within in a mile and a half of the island. That was no good. They needed to be within a mile of the island before psychic pokemon would be of any use.

The waves battered the ship, as the winds outside howled like a beast in pain, and the sky crackled with lightning. It was a small ship, not used to enduring such torments, and as they went further into the storm, it began to tilt and creak precariously. The whole situation seemed to make Jared anxious. He was jittery, pacing around the room and rubbing his hands together, as Jaquie calmly gave him last minute instructions.

"Go below deck and check on the cargo. Make sure the boxes are tightly sealed and ready for teleportation. Then go to the helm and check on Karen and Kris. Tell Kris we only need to get a little farther before we're in teleportation range."

Jared nodded compliantly, still pacing and taking deep breaths. She thought he would obey right away, but instead he turned to her.

"You aren't at all nervous about what could happen if your plan doesn't work?" he asked.

"I'm not as nervous as you are, no," Jaquie said. She was studying the maps and hadn't even looked up to answer.

Jared let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I guess I am nervous. It's not that I mind the ocean or storms, but put them together, and it is a little frightening for me."

He was wasting time babbling. Maybe if she ignored him...

"But," he said to her, ignoring the fact that she was ignoring him, "you aren't at all scared? I mean, I know you always seem calm and in control, but you can't feel like that all the time, right? I mean, there are some times when you just get nervous, right?"

He had her attention now. She looked at him coldly and crossed her arms. "No, Jared, I do not get nervous. Because being nervous does nothing but slow down production."

"Oh," he replied. It was a strange mix of disappointment and... something else. Disbelief? Suspicion? Jaquie couldn't be sure.

"You have your instructions," she said. She looked down at her maps, acting as though Jared was invisible. Jared eventually left; Jaquie heard the door shutting behind him and footsteps leading to the cargo area.

Jaquie's eyes still focused on the maps, but she didn't see them. _ I know you always seem calm and in control, but you can't feel like that all the time, right?_ Jared's innocent remark was a little too true for Jaquie to just ignore. Yes, Jaquie got nervous, she got nervous several times. But there was no point in showing it. There was no point in letting it bother her. The best thing to do was try to get rid of the stupid emotion as soon as it came.

The voyage was getting rougher. They would have to evacuate soon. Jaquie checked there position on the map-they were close enough to begin teleportation now. Jaquie folded the maps and put them in her pocket. She was about to inform Karen and Kris, when she heard a thump from the cargo area.

"Uh, Jaquie, can you get down here?" Jared yelled. "I think we have a... complication."

Jaquie raced to the cargo area where Jared was waiting. She could see the problem: three stowaways lay unconscious on the deck. But when she got a good look...

Jaquie groaned. _Them_. It had to be _them_.

Jesse, James, and Meowth.

. . .

Jared had gone down to the cargo area berating himself for his stupidity. It was one thing to be nervous-he was perilously close to the edge of death.

Once when he was young, he'd witnessed a storm at sea. He watched in awe as the waves crashed and the thunder clashed, and an abyss of dark sky fought an abyss of dark water, with the lightning providing moments of dazzling brightness that only intensified the drama. It was like some maniac orchestra being played by demons. And now, instead of watching this concert, he was experiencing it.

It was normal to be shaken and to start fidgeting and act strangely. But why oh why did he have to start blathering his fears to his boss. Now she probably thought he was an idiot-an annoying, cowardly one at that. It wasn't bad enough that he'd gotten Karen mad at him, but Jaquie, too?

Jared was still thinking along this line when he came to the cargo area. His hand was on the doorknob, ready to open it, when Jared paused. Were those voices he heard?

Jared put his ear against the door. Yes there were voices emitting from the cargo area. What's more, they certainly weren't any voices he recognized.

"That was the most uncomfortable three hours of my life," whined a high-pitched male voice.

"I think I'm seasick," someone with a scratchy voice moaned.

"What are you complaining about?" demanded the whiney male. "You had that nice, big box all to yourself. I was all cramped up in mine."

"Would you two stop complaining?" snapped a new voice, this one bossy and definitely female. "We have to find out what's going on without being noticed. And for that to happen, _both of you have to shut up_!" She said this part rather loudly.

Jared paused. He didn't know who these people were, but he had a feeling that they were going to be a problem.

"Parasect," Jared quietly called out his pokemon.

Meanwhile, the voices continued.

"Once our new boss gets a look at our story, we're going to be rich!" This exuberant comment came from the bossy female voice. "Rich, rich, rich!"

"We'll be the most famous reporters that ever lived!" said the first male voice with equal excitement.

_Reporters_? That did it. Jared swung the door opened and switched on the lights. The three people blinked as the room filled with light.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Jared said, more curious than threatening.

There were three of them, a boy, a girl, and a Meowth. Each one stood in front of a large box with the lid removed. It wasn't hard to tell what had happened: apparently each of the three of them had stowed away in one of the crates and was just now coming out of hiding. The light overhead was dim and Jared couldn't see their faces, but he was pretty sure that he had startled them into mild shock.

The girl was the first to recover. "Prepare for trouble," she said, a few moments after seeing him.

This was bizarre. How did three reporters know the Team Rocket motto? More interestingly, why were they reciting it?

The boy tapped the girl on the shoulder. "Jesse, we aren't supposed to recite the Team Rocket motto anymore. We have a new job now."

"I'm just giving him a warning," huffed the girl. "Members of Team Rocket or not, we are still dangerous."

"What're you two doing just standing there talking when he could go back for help at any time!" yelled the Meowth, scratching the boy and girl. "Let's get him before he can rat us out!"

"Right," the two humans agreed simultaneously, and the three of them began to run at him.

To Jared, they didn't seem especially tough or threatening-especially compared to the members of Team Rocket he was working with-but then Jared wasn't exactly a good fighter anyway and he wasn't taking chances.

"Parasect," he ordered, "Spore!"

As the air filled with Parasect's highly potent sleeping powder the three-reporters? former Team Rocket members?-fell to the ground with a thump. They were fast asleep on the floor. Uncertain of what to do next, Jared decided he'd better call for reinforcements.

"Uh, Jaquie, can you get down here? I think we have a... complication."

Less than a minute later Jaquie was next to him. She took one look at the unconscious trio and let out a groan. Apparently, she recognized them.

Jaquie knelt down by the three people. She took out a small case of liquid and broke the top off. Jaquie began waving the bottle under the girl's nose. The girl jerked up with a sudden start.

"Huh," Jaquie said. "I guess Awakening does work on humans."

"What-What happened?" asked the girl reporter groggily, trying to stand up.

By this time Jared had gotten close enough to get a good look at her face. He blinked in surprise. This strange stowaway girl reporter with a bossy voice looked remarkably similar to none other than their expedition leader Jaquie. A bit shorter maybe, a bit younger maybe, but with the same blue eyes, the same red hair, the same features.

The girl spotted Jared and glared.

"You!" she accused.

She didn't see Jaquie; Jaquie had quietly moved on to revive the boy.

"I warned you to prepare for trouble," said the Jaquie look-alike, reaching for a pokeball. "And now you're in it!"

"Calm down, Jesse,"Jaquie said tonelessly.

The girl- Jesse?- immediately spun around to face Jaquie, but her stance was quite different. With Jared she stood up straight, confident, cocky. With Jaquie, she was less certain.

"What are you doing here?" The girl's demand came out like a plea.

Before Jaquie could give any sort of reply, the boy woke up.

"I feel terrible," he groaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "What's going on...?" The boy suddenly saw who it was that revived him and jumped up with a yelp. "Aah! Jaquie!"

"It's nice to see you too, James," said Jaquie, in a voice that could have almost been sarcastic had it not been so bland. That said, she went on to revive the cat.

James went to stand next to Jesse. Side by side, they both seemed more self-assured, more complete, as if one without the other was about as useful as a single shoe. Still, even together they were not as powerful as Jaquie alone. By herself, awakening the Meowth, she still commanded all the attention of the room. All eyes were on her, waiting for a signal for what to do next; none dared speak without her permission.

The cat revived clawing and scratching, but Jaquie seemed to have anticipated this and moved her arm in front of her face. "Good morning Meowth," she added flatly. "Our little group is complete, I see."

"Jaquie!" The Meowth sprang away from Jaquie and bounded next to the two stowaway humans. Only then did it extend its claws menacingly towards Jaquie. "Don't try anything sneaky."

A talking Meowth. This was getting more and more unusual.

Jaquie got to her feet and faced them with a kind of supremacy that showed that this situation was beneath her. "I'm only going to say this once. You are in danger, and if do not do exactly as I say, there's a good chance that you will be killed."

Jesse was the only one able to scrape up enough courage to reply. "We are not children anymore," she told Jaquie, as if stowing away on a ship was grown-up. "We do not need you to boss us around. We can take care of ourselves."

Jared stared at her as though she had just signed her death warrant. You didn't sass Jaquie like that. Jared had only been with her for two days and already he knew: you just didn't do it.

Jesse was spared a horrible, untimely death because at that moment Karen rushed in.

"Kris says that if we push this ship any further it's sure to capsize. He wants to know if were close enough to teleport—" Karen suddenly stopped as she noticed the three stowaways. "Jesse?" she said with disgust. "James? Meowth?"

The three stowaways cowered as they saw her. They reminded Jared of plastic melting in the microwave.

"Well, well, well." Karen put her hands on hips. "I knew that every trip had to have some failure. I just didn't realize that you three would be ours."

Kris barged in. "Move it you guys!" he yelled. "We're going to crash! ...Jesse? James? Meowth?"

Did everyone know these guys except Jared?

At that moment a wave surged into the boat. The boat shuddered, falling to its side like a wounded animal, and water began to flood in.

. . .

"Get out!" Jaquie cried. The cold, salty water had soaked through the ankles of her pants and was quickly rising.

Everyone rushed for the door. By some miracle, they made it outside of the cargo area without being harmed.

The rest of the way out of the boat was utter chaos. The water was up to their waists by this time, and they could feel the ship shuddering as water forced it further down into the deep. Yet everyone managed to make it out of the ship. Karen led the way with Jaquie hustling everyone forward from the back, and, between the two, the group made good speed up the stairs and to the door that led outside.

Karen opened the door. Water poured in. "Quick, water pokemon, now!" Jaquie ordered before water swept into her mouth.

Jaquie released her own half-water, half-psychic pokemon, Slowbro. Jaquie clung to Slowbro's shell; Jared, remembering the emergency drill, did the same. Slowbro barely seemed to acknowledge the extra weight as it swam expertly through the cold, black water and broke above the surface.

Rough waves slammed into each other, the wind shrieked, and the rain poured down in sheets. The thunder and the lightning were in competition of who could cause the most distraction. Amid the clamor, Jaquie yelled out for the remainder of the group while next to her Jared gasped for breath. "Jesse, James, Karen, Kris, Meowth!"

"Jaquie!" It was Kris, a short ways off. He and Karen were holding on for dear life to Kris' Cloyster.

"Jesse, James, Meowth!" Jaquie called out. There was no reply, save for the boom of thunder in Jaquie's ears. "Jesse! James! Meowth!" Where were they? Her eyes swept the ocean, but she didn't see them anywhere. Why weren't they at the surface yet? Didn't they have water pokemon?

Jaquie became frantic. "Jesse! James! Meowth!" she cried, louder this time. Still there was no answer. "JESSE!"

Right then they broke the surface, bobbing on James' Wheezing, coughing and choking and trying to breathe.

Jaquie had little time to feel relieved. The water was calamitously dangerous, waves erupting and yanking the pokemon down below. She motioned Karen and Kris near her.

"We're within a mile of the island," she yelled to them. "Prepare to teleport!"

Karen reached for her pokeball and ordered her psychic pokemon out. Jaquie gave her Slowbro the order. A moment later, Karen, Kris, Jaquie, and Jared teleported away.

Only a few feet off, Jesse, James, and Meowth were completely oblivious to their superiors, oblivious to the thrashing ocean, oblivious to all except the fact that they were _alive_.

"We survived," they gasped. "We survived!"

The water beneath them sank precariously low. The three of them stopped in mid-celebration to face another fear. Just behind them, a huge wave was building.

"A wave!" they screamed. "Help!"

"Jaquie!" cried Jesse, turning to her older sister. But where Jaquie had been just seconds before, Jesse now saw nothing. Frantically, she began to search about the area around her, but all she saw was the ocean, the wave, and the sky.

At that moment, at that moment when she should have burst into hysterical panic, Jesse became perfectly still. She felt cold. Suddenly, frighteningly cold, as if the ocean water had slowly soaked through her skin and settled into the bowels of her stomach.

James and Meowth were yelling and splashing and trying to paddle their way away from the wave. The wave was climbing higher and higher, building into a gigantic monster poised to slam itself against them. From above the chaos in the sky screamed in delight.

And all that filled Jesse's mind was a single, small, nagging thought. _Did my sister abandon me_?

Jaquie suddenly appeared with her Slowbro. "Grab on!" she yelled, and Jesse, James, and Meowth quickly gathered around. "Teleport!" Jaquie commanded and an instant later the three humans and the three pokemon vanished.

A heart-beat later, the gigantic wave crashed down.


	5. Chapter 3: Exlanations and Accusations

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly **(aka** Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 3

**Explanations and Accusations**

. . .

. . .

When Jesse, James, and Meowth found themselves on dry land as opposed to in the middle of a storm-ridden sea, they immediately began to hug and cry. "We made it! We survived! It's a miracle!"

Kris rolled his eyes. "I'll give them that," he muttered in disgust.

Jared surveyed the island, feeling faintly curious. He could still see the storm churning the water only a few feet away. But on the island it was a sunny day; there wasn't even a cloud in the sky. Jared had heard the occasional tale about a psychic pokemon with the ability to control the weather. But that was rare, so whatever pokemon the island harbored, they must be powerful indeed.

The beach they were on was pleasantly sandy, but deserted; also it didn't last very long. About 100 feet from the water, a dense jungle abruptly began. Jared guessed that most of the pokemon lived there.

Jared was alone except for Kris and the three stowaways. Both Jaquie and Karen had gone back to the boat to teleport the supplies. In fact, within a few seconds large boxes began to appear, hanging in the sky for a moment like a bizarre cloud, then pummeling to the earth. The earth where the stowaways sat.

Jared opened his mouth to warn them, but Kris nudged him.

"Shh," he whispered, eyes glittering with mischief. "This ought to be good."

Three seconds before it was actually on top of them, Jesse, James, and Meowth stopped celebrating the fact that they were alive long enough to notice that a huge and potentially dangerous object was falling towards them at a rapid speed. Like fish slipping from the grasp of a human fist, the trio scrambled away from their certain death, spraying sand as they slipped away.

The box crashed down, right in the place they once say.

They sighed with relief, then noticed the second box.

Jesse, James, and Meowth leapt, spun and twirled away from the bombardment of falling boxes like ballerinas in an ungraceful dance.

"Help!" they screeched. "It's raining crates and boxes!"

By the time they finally realized to head for the box-free zone where Jared and Kris stood, the boxes had stopped falling.

Kris laughed maniacally. "You guys," he chuckled, "are just as pathetic as ever."

"That wasn't funny," whined the boy named James as he gasped for breath. "We could have been killed!"

Kris grinned. "That's what made it so fun to watch."

At that moment, Karen and Jaquie teleported to the beach with their psychic pokemon. Thoroughly wet and waterlogged, they fell weakly to their knees and choked out sea water, gasping for air.

Kris went over to Karen and helped her up.

"We... got... as much stuff... as we could," she managed to say. "We had to teleport or drown. But there are maybe ten boxes still left in the boat. Which is at the bottom of the sea by now."

Jaquie quietly stood up. Her hair was spattered all about her shoulders and back, like seaweed washed on the shore, and large drops of water dripped from her clothes. She looked ridiculous.

No one laughed or even smiled.

Her eyes turned towards Jesse, James, and Meowth. "I would like an explanation as to why you three are here."

Jesse, James, and Meowth squirmed. "Uh... well... you see..."

Jaquie crossed her arms. "Well?"

The silence continued until Jared couldn't stand it.

"Excuse me," he interrupted, "I have a question. Who are these people and why is it everyone knows them?"

"We," Jesse said proudly, "were members of Team Rocket." James and Meowth puffed up their chests.

"Before they were fired," Kris said.

"Because they couldn't catch a single pokemon or do a simple chore," added Karen.

"That's not true!" Jesse said.

"Hey, we didn't mess up _everything_," snapped Meowth.

"And we nearly caught that Pikachu-" began James.

"Ah yes, that _elusive_ Pikachu," interrupted Karen, her voice syrupy with sarcasm. "Its ferocity rivals that of a legendary bird or maybe even Mewtwo."

"It's so rare that catching one would probably be worth... what, ten bucks," said Kris.

Jesse, James, and Meowth simpered indignation.

"I'm still lost," Jared informed them.

"We have a special school to train certain Team Rocket members," Jaquie clarified. "Jesse and James were in the same class as Karen and Kris." Jaquie paused. "I taught them."

Jared nodded, but he was still curious. "Are you two related?" he blurted. "You and Jesse? Because you look so much alike..."

Neither seemed thrilled with Jared's last comment. Jaquie, arms still crossed, coolly looked Jesse up and down, as if studying a picture. Her blue eyes, so similar to Jesse's, examined the other girl with neutral interest.

Jesse, on the other hand, was visibly outraged. "We do not look alike at all!" she burst, hands on hips. She flounced away from Jared, tossing her hair, the same bright shade of red as Jaquie's.

"You look exactly the same," Karen contradicted. "You're sisters. Why even bother to deny it?"

"Jaquie and Jesse are sisters?"

That explained a lot. It also presented new and strange questions.

"Getting back to the topic, I would still like to know why the three of you are here," inquired Jaquie, turning back to her sister, James, and Meowth. "You were fired from Team Rocket a couple of months before this mission was even announced. What are you doing back with us?"

"Especially, since this was supposed to be secret," Karen added. "Besides Giovanni, we were the only ones who knew about this island. So how did you find out?"

Jared remembered the conversation on the boat. "Yes, and aren't you reporters or something?"

Jesse, James, and Meowth threw Jared a half-infuriated, half-astonished look. But before they could say anything, the others pounced on them.

"Reporters? You pack of incompetents are reporters?" Kris exclaimed.

"Is this true?" said Jaquie.

"And how did you know that they were reporters, Jared?" Karen asked softly, suspiciously.

"It's true, we're reporters," Jesse tossed. "You thought we would never amount to anything, but we did. So there!"

"We work for the Pokemon Broadcasting Network," added James. "We're going to be full-fledged reporters someday and be rich and famous."

"Just like you were going to capture that Pikachu and become the strongest members of Team Rocket," taunted Kris.

"Wait, do you mean you're not even real reporters, yet?" Jared said.

"Yes, we are! Well sort of. We haven't really covered a story yet, but ..."

"I see." Jared nodded. "You snuck on, looking for a big break. You figured that once you had this story you would be promoted and end up making a lot of money, right?" Karen was still looking at Jared with a suspicious frown. "I overheard them on the boat," he shrugged.

"I think the question is why would PBN even give such an important assignment to them?" Kris said. "Surely, they have people with talent working with them."

"Hey, we have talent," whined James.

"Plus we're good-looking and charming," said Jesse.

"And don't forget me," said Meowth. "I'm the one who got us the job in the first place. I'm the only Meowth that can talk. I'm practically a celebrity."

"Oh, please," said Kris. "No really, why did they send you?"

"Maybe it's because they were once members of Team Rocket," suggested Jared. "Suppose the network somehow discovered the story, but no one would take it. They knew it would spark human interest-especially among pokemon trainers-and that they'd get higher ratings and, thus, more money. But, since Team Rocket is a criminal institution, no one was willing to take the risk. Then they found out Jesse, James, and Meowth were members of Team Rocket. They'd have diplomatic immunity, so to speak."

Jared felt everyone's eyes on him. Again, he shrugged. "It's just a theory."

"A pretty good theory," said Karen. Of all the people, she seemed the least surprised and the most skeptical. "It sounds very accurate, almost as if you knew exactly what was going on. Tell me, did you overhear that on board the ship, too?"

"No, I just..."

"Because it seems to me that we are avoiding the real issue, which is how anyone knew about this mission in the first place. Obviously someone informed on us. Only five of us knew about it. I wonder which one of us could possibly be the traitor?"

Jared felt his stomach ache with dread. It was, unfortunately, a very familiar feeling to him.

"There were lots of people who knew we were going, not just the five of us," Jared said. "For instance the members who loaded the crates into the boat..."

"Yes, but they weren't told anything until that morning," Karen interrupted. "And no one but us were told the details. What would they do, go up to the station and say, 'Hey, some of our top members are going on a really long cruise. I think they're going to a secret island filled with really strong pokemon.' No, whoever informed on us knew exactly what was going on."

"You think I did it?" Jared said bluntly. "You think I was the traitor?" He spat out the last word. It filled him with a horrible disgust.

"Of course I do"

"Why? Why would I do that?"

"I always hear scientist complaining that they don't have enough money to do research." Kris was next to Karen, glaring at Jared with a suspicious gaze identical to that of his partner. "I think a news station would pay a lot of money for that kind of tip. Are you planning on squeezing in on part of the profits?"

"No, I..."

"Then why were you trying to defend Jesse and James? We asked them why they were here and you answered for them. Is the deal that you get the money only if the story actually makes it to the network?"

"I'm not defending them, I'm just..."

"You found them. You seem to know all about them, despite never seeing them before. You don't even let them speak for themselves. How much are they giving you?"

"I did not inform on us, and I am not a traitor!"

But even as he spoke, Jared knew that his case was bleak. He was the youngest, the newest, and the lowest paid member. He was a scientist, different from the others, and no one really knew him.

_I would be suspicious of me_, thought Jared derisively. _Except that I didn't do it_.

"You're forgetting something." Jaquie's quiet voice got everyone's attention. "You're overlooking the fact that your theories are simply theories. You don't have any proof to support it. There are several possibilities. For instance, right before Giovanni told me about this island, I had just assisted in demoting a bunch of Team Rocket members. Any of them could have been listening in on the conversation and informed PBN out of revenge. Or maybe no one informed on us. Maybe Jesse, James, and Meowth just snuck aboard because they were desperate for a story and thought following us would be a good one."

Jesse, James, and Meowth hadn't spoken for a while, apparently not wanting to get entangled into the vehement argument their superiors were having. But now Jesse opened her mouth.

"We weren't just following you! We knew you were going on an island with super strong, super smart pokemon on it!"

Everyone turned to them.

"So who was it who informed on us, Jesse?" Jaquie asked.

"Yeah, who was the traitor?" Karen said, tilting her head to look at Jared.

"Well.. you see... when he... when the boss..." Jesse looked from Jaquie to Karen to Jared to Kris in utter confusion.

"Well!" said Kris impatiently.

"We don't know!" cried James. "The boss just called us to his office and told us he had a story for us. He told us about the island, and said we'd be promoted if we went. He didn't tell us who told him!"

Jesse and Meowth nodded. "Yeah, what he said!"

"You guys are useless!" exclaimed Kris. "You never know anything!"

"So, for now, the traitor remains a mystery," Jaquie said, shaking her head.

"It could still be Jared." This came from Karen, of course.

"Yes, it could be," Jaquie admitted. "It's very possible."

Jared shifted uncomfortably.

"But there's also a possibility that Jared didn't inform on us, so we aren't going to worry about it until we are well off the island."

"But Jaquie," Karen said, "_if_ he is the traitor..."

"I'm not!" Jared hotly insisted.

Karen glared at him. "If he's a traitor, then we can't trust him."

"I know where you're headed Karen, and the answer is no."

"Karen is right," spoke up Kris. "If we can't trust him than he's no use to us. We should deal with him now"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Kris, do you know how to assemble the medical equipment? Do you know how to run it? Well, Jared can. We need him. So he will not be 'dealt with,' as you put it."

"But he's betrayed us before, he can betray us again," said Karen. "How do you know he won't sabotage the pokemon healing machines so that it kills our pokemon instead of heals them?"

"I did not betray anyone!" Jared shouted.

"How do you know he will? Besides, I'm sure Jared can see that we are his only way off this island and that we are already suspicious of him. I doubt he'd do anything so stupid."

Jared sighed and sat down on the sand. He obviously wasn't part of the conversation. What was the point in trying to persuade them of his innocence? The argument wasn't even about whether or not he was guilty anymore, it was about whether or not he was useful.

He noticed Jesse, James, and Meowth sitting in the sand with him. They had a look of bored defeat. Maybe they'd been in this situation before. At any rate, they certainly seemed used to being excluded.

"We are in a survival situation! This isn't the time for democracy!" Karen insisted. "Jaquie, I know I'm right, and we don't have time for all that 'trial by jury', 'innocent until proven guilty' stuff."

"Thank you for reminding me Karen," Jaquie said dryly. "We are not in a democracy. We are in a _dictatorship_. And I am the dictator. So you will do what I say without argument. Understand?"

Jaquie barely raised her voice. She didn't need to. Everyone looked at her, but nobody said a word.

Jaquie sighed. "We are, as Karen said, in a survival situation. We, therefore, need everyone's cooperation. Everyone has different skills that will be necessary later on. Everyone needs to contribute their skills and work together. Or we may just be killed," she said bluntly. "So I think it's in everyone's best self-interest to at least try to get along."

There was silence. Jared watched the ocean water lapse contentedly against the beach. It made a soft, peaceful swaying sound. Hard to believe this was the same ocean that had nearly killed them in its rough rocky waves a few minutes ago. But the storm had vanished from the water and the sun burned hot on Jared's hair.

"Well," Kris said, after a silence, "I can understand Jaquie's point. We rely on Jared, so we can't exactly hurt him or anything. Fine. However," Kris turned with a menacing grin to Jesse, James, and Meowth, "there are some people we don't need at all. How do we deal with them?"

Jesse, James, and Meowth gulped.

"You are not going to deal with anyone," Jaquie said.

"They delayed us when we were on the ship. We lost supplies because of them. And now they want to expose us on television."

"No, Kris."

"But they're incompetent idiots..."

"I said no! How many times do I have to repeat that before it enters your head!"

Kris relapsed into sullen silence.

Jared noticed that unlike the previous argument, Jaquie didn't expend any energy arguing the case. Jared felt slightly hurt; Jaquie left him to battle Karen and Kris and then went into go into a long debate before using her cloak of authority to ensure his safety. With Jesse, James, and Meowth she had barely let Kris get a word in. It wasn't quite fair. Then again, Jared wasn't related to her.

Kris must have been thinking the same thing. "I suppose this is because Jesse's your sister."

"Yes, Kris, she is my sister," Jaquie snapped. "And because your bullying wouldn't do us any good. And because I'm tired of having to argue with you when we have work to do. Jesse, James, and Meowth will pull their weight around here. They can forage for food, put together weapons and traps, and probably manage simple errands we give them. We will put them to use."

The trio opened their mouths to protest, but a swift glance from Jaquie, and James and Meowth promptly closed them again. But Jesse's eyes flashed angrily. Only she had the audacity to stand up and speak.

"We didn't agree to that! We're not in Team Rocket anymore! You can't just boss us around like that!"

"If you don't follow my orders, you'll be left on your own," Jaquie said coldly. "You'll have to find your own food, your own tools, and your own shelter. You'll have to protect yourself from the wild pokemon and probably Karen and Kris. Oh, and unless you manage to find a ferry, you'll have to think of a way off this island. It's your choice: take it or leave it."

Jesse sat back down again, defeated. "Why does she always have to be the leader?" she grumbled.

_Because_, thought Jared as he watched Jaquie prepare to give her next order, _she is._


	6. Chapter 4: Wild Pokemon

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 4

**Wild Pokemon**

. . .

. . .

The sun had just about dried out their hair and clothes. Jared tried to clean off his glasses on a dry patch of his sleeve but wasn't having much luck. Karen and Kris wrenched open a crate storing spare clothes and began to rummage through in search of shoes. Karen changed from the high heels she wore into more practical boots; since Kris' shoes were hopelessly drenched, he changed into dry hiking boots.

Jaquie, meanwhile, pried the top of a crate marked "weapons" and found her familiar whip. She hooked it to her belt. The island must have made her feel slightly insecure, because, in addition to her choice weapon, she also fished out a small ice revolver and slung this too by her side.

She then invited Karen and Kris to choose their weapons. Karen chose an ice bazooka that was nearly as tall as she was while Kris loaded himself with six electric revolvers. Jesse, James, and Meowth complained softly to themselves and drew pictures in the sand. They knew better than to disturb their superiors.

After arming themselves, Jaquie gave Karen and Kris their orders. "Find a good place in the jungle where we can set up camp, then report back. Try to find a place that's near a water source, and be sure that it's well protected from possible attack."

"Who'd attack us?" asked Kris with a shrug.

"Wild pokemon," Jaquie replied. "The pokemon on this island are fiercely strong, and I don't want to be vulnerable should they choose to attack us at night."

"While we're searching for our camp should we try catching pokemon?" inquired Karen.

Jaquie shook her head. "No, I don't want a long expedition. Just take a quick glance around, find a place, and report back. Don't attack the pokemon unless you're attacked first. But take note of the lairs of wild pokemon, if you find any."

Having received their orders, Karen and Kris headed into the jungle and vanished in the overgrowth. Meanwhile Jaquie turned to Jared.

"Just in case they do get into trouble with pokemon, why don't you set up the medical equipment?"

"Do you think they'll be attacked?" asked Jared, concerned.

Jaquie shrugged. "Personally, I think they'll be fine on their own, but you might as well put together the machine now and be productive."

Jared nodded and, with a sigh, began to unload the medical crate.

"Jesse, James, and Meowth." The three looked up. "Start unloading the crates. I want to take an inventory of our supplies. I need to know if anything's been damaged. I suppose I ought to communicate with Giovanni, if its even possible," she added as a personal afterthought.

James and Meowth got to their feet and headed for the boxes. Jesse stood and paused, opening her mouth, as if to speak. A quick glance from Jaquie and she thought better of it. She scurried to James and Meowth, helping them unload the boxes, but resentment glowed in her eyes.

Jaquie paid no attention to this.

. . .

Karen had slung her ice bazooka casually over her slim shoulders, but her grip on the handle was tight. Kris walked beside her, hand resting lightly on the butt of a revolver. With each step into the thick of the jungle, they paused to listen for the sounds of potential enemies. Their eyes darted for suspicious shadows in the humid mass of green leaves.

Kris let out a nervous laugh. "This is ridiculous. I've been less worried in a police training area alerted of my presence. Much less nervous."

"Police are one thing," agreed Karen, keeping her voice low. "At least you know what to expect from them. These pokemon, well, we don't really know what they're capable of. And if a Caterpie could nearly wipe out your Charmeleon-"

"Hey, that Caterpie wasn't even close to defeating Fire Rage," interrupted Kris with as much of his usual lightheartedness he could muster.

"My point is that these pokemon are different from anything we're used to," said Karen, in no mood to jest. "And don't forget that it isn't just these pokemon we have to deal with. There's a traitor here, too."

"Jared." Kris gritted his teeth. "That sniveling scientist. I bet he's one of those stuck-up, 'I'm-so-brilliant-because-I can-name-all-the-species-of-bacteria' jerks. He doesn't belong with us. As far as I'm concerned, we can't trust him."

"And to think that we need to rely on him to heal our pokemon." Karen clenched her jaw. "He'd better not try anything or I'll break him myself!"

The clear blue sky darkened; a shadow flew overhead. Karen and Kris looked up, too late; whatever it had been had flown off. Karen and Kris paused a moment before continuing on.

"I must be getting paranoid," Karen said, shaking her head. "Me jumping at shadows! What a coward I've become."

Kris was less at ease than Karen. He walked slowly, staring into the shadows of the bushes, glancing furtively around at each snap of a twig. Karen noticed when he fell behind.

"Kris?" she said tensely. His face was dark and anxious. "What is it?"

Kris glanced around again before answering. "The jungle...something about it's not right. I don't like it, Karen." Karen felt a chill go down her spine and held onto her bazooka tighter. "I feel like we're being hunted..."

A strong, sudden gust a of wind, like a hurricane, sent Karen and Kris flying back. From the bushes in front loomed a huge shadow, and, amid the noise of the wind rushing at them, a horrible screech filled their ears.

Karen felt a moment of terrified confusion; then she slammed into something and thick, throbbing pain enveloped her mind. For a moment her vision blurred and spattered into a jigsaw puzzle of colors, then her senses returned and Karen could see that the blast of wind had flung her against the trunk of a thick tree. Head still reeling from pain, Karen picked herself up and looked for Kris.

Kris had been shoved roughly on his back on the ground. Above him, a Fearow attacked. A long sharp beak, jabbed at Kris' head; he dodged, but the assailant drew back up with blood on its beak. Kris reached upwards for the pokemon's throat. He touched feathers and grabbed on, fingernails digging into the flesh. He was trying to throttle his opponent. The bird lunged for him again; Kris struggled.

A few feet away from was Karen's bazooka. She seized it. Kneeling on one knee, she positioned it over her shoulder and fired. She was still dazed and her shot was a poor. She hit Fearow at a glancing blow on its back, but hit it all the same.

The massive bird shrieked. It turned to Karen and its malevolent eyes bored into her. Karen tugged the trigger back once more. The bird spread its huge wings, which for a moment eclipsed the sun, and flew away. Karen's blast hit somewhere in the bushes. There was a rustling and then, except for the two humans' heavy breathing, the jungle was again quiet.

"What...what just happened?" panted Kris. He was sweaty and more ashen than usual. Across his left cheek there was a nasty red cut. Karen helped him to his feet. He wobbled; Karen let him lean on her until he regained his balance. The blood on his cheek began to drip, and Kris rubbed it away with his hand, creating a smear of blood across his face.

"Apparently Jaquie was right when she said we'd have to watch out for these wild pokemon," replied Karen, somewhat sarcastically.

"Well, duh! But that Fearow that attacked us-attacked me-what happened to it?"

"I shot it and it flew off. Where to I don't know. I'd give a great deal to find out, though."

"What I want to know is how it sneaked up on us in the first place. Fearows are huge! How is it that we didn't see it?"

Tawny, pale brown feathers wedged between the branches of the trees above trickled down on them like rain.

"I bet Fearow spotted us from above, turned around, dove for cover under the trees, hidden by the jungle," said Karen.

"You mean Fearow knew strategy? But pokemon aren't supposed to think like that!"

"Well, these pokemon do. Jared did say they were smart."

"The traitor," muttered Kris.

They walked on in silence for a while. But the jungle had returned to normal vivacity, and Kris was gradually becoming more comfortable in his surroundings.

"By the way, thanks," he told Karen. "That was quite a shot you gave Fearow."

"It was a terrible shot,'" said Karen critically. "Had it been a direct hit, Fearow would have froze."

"Well, you hit Fearow, at least. And you scared it. And you saved my life, if that counts for anything."

Now that the attack was over, Kris' airy confidence had returned. Karen's bazooka blast had proved one thing, for him at least. These pokemon were not demigods; they were not immune to attack. Despite his aches and bruises, Kris' good mood seeped into him as his confidence returned.

"Whatever," replied Karen. "Let's just get out of here."

Unlike Kris, caution was not fleeting and transparent for Karen, but something deeply ingrained into her being. She couldn't help feeling worried about the Fearow. Kris hadn't seen Fearow's malicious gaze right before it had flown off. Karen had. She wasn't good at reading expressions, especially those of pokemon, but there was one thing Fearow's blazing black eyes had made apparent: Fearow had not flown off because it was scared.

. . .

Fearow shrieked the news from above. Humans, intruding again. And these more dangerous than the meek, disorganized group that clung to the beach. Unlike the sailors, they had dared penetrate the jungle. And these ones had weapons that blasted cold and ice. They were not easily scared away.

_Humans_, Fearow shrieked in the language of pokemon, and from below, it was heard.

. . .

Karen and Kris walked until they came to a section where the jungle was interrupted by a rocky landscape. The ground became hard and large rocks jutted from the earth in a semi-circle. The diverse population of bushes and trees promptly ended where the rocks began, and gave way instead to curly vines that attached themselves to the sturdy rocks, trying to squeeze the life out of them. The rocks chipped and crumbled, but otherwise remained.

Karen surveyed the area. The dirt was tough but not so tough they couldn't set up a tent. The encircling rocks provided shelter against the wind.

"What do you think Kris?"

She turned around and discovered her partner had fallen behind again and was standing at the edge of the jungle.

"Kris!" she shouted.

"Huh?" He turned to look at her but was clearly distracted.

"I said what do you think of this place? The rocks provide protection and we can probably salvage fruits from the forest nearby."

"Yeah, it's great," said Kris, not paying Karen much attention. He glanced around, as if watching for something.

"But we still need a water source. Maybe we should look around..."

"No! It's fine!" The tension in Kris' voice startled her. "Let's just go."

"Kris, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great." He tried to smile and almost succeeded. "Let's just get out of here before some other pokemon arrives."

"Fine." Karen tossed a pokeball to the ground, and Kris jogged next to her. Her Mr. Mime came out.

"Maimer, teleport!" Karen ordered.

Maimer closed its eyes in concentration. A minute passed, then another. Nothing happened.

"Okay, what's wrong with it?" said Kris angrily to Karen.

Karen spoke in a soft, almost gentle voice. "Maimer, what is it?"

"Is it playing some kind of game? Because this really isn't the time."

"Kris, I-"

"We need to go, now!"

"Kris-"

"And if this lazy thing won't get us out of here-"

"Kris, would you shut up and listen! I don't think it can teleport! I thing its being blocked."

Kris muttered something under his breath. Karen didn't quite here him.

"What did you say?"

"I said I thought we were being watched."

Then they appeared. From behind the rocks, like shadows. Five Magmars and five Machokes. They took their time for they were in no hurry. They walked in formation, Magmars in front, Machokes in back, continuing forward, never making a sound.

Kris drew out his revolver and fired several times. Karen knelt down, and shot a blast from her bazooka. Ice and electricity flew for the Magmars.

The Magmars remained calm. As the ice and electricity rushed at them, their eyes began to glow. The ice and electricity stopped in mid-air, as motionless as a photograph.

Karen licked her now dried lips. "They're using a psychic attack. Wild Magmars aren't supposed know that."

The Magmars squinted and the ice and electricity suddenly shot back in the direction from which it had come. Karen and Kris ducked, but Maimer reacted first, creating a barrier. The ice and electricity exploded against it, but the barrier withheld, and Karen and Kris were unharmed.

Karen's eyes smoldered. "All right, they want to play tough, do they? Maimer, barrier down!" Karen threw down two more pokeballs. "Go, Accelerator! Go, Metamorpher!" At her call, out came Rapidash and Ditto.

Kris, equally enraged, also threw down pokeballs. "Go, Crusher, Kicker, and Tantrum!" he called and Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, and Primeape appeared.

Karen and Kris had developed a strategy of winning that had allowed them to defeat three times the number of opponents by having their pokemon working together. They put this strategy into effect now.

"Metamorpher, transform," yelled Karen.

Ditto changed into a Magmar.

"Crusher, Kicker, Tantrum," shouted Kris, "Substitute!"

Miniature clones came out of the three fighting fiends, prepared to defend the originals from the attacks.

"Accelerator, agility," cried Karen and Rapidash raced forward.

Karen and Kris grinned fiercely. Their strategy set up, the attack went underway.

"Crusher, comet punch! Kicker, high jump kick! Tantrum, thrash!" Kris ordered.

"Metamorpher, Maimer, psychic," called out Karen. "Accelerator use ember while you run!"

This was the beauty of Karen and Kris' plan. While Ditto and Mr. Mime used psychic attacks to disable some of the opponents, Rapidash would distract the rest by using its ember attack to sting them as it ran circles around its opponents at blindingly fast speeds. Meanwhile the three fighters, with their substitute clones defending them, could press an all out offense, delivering blow after blow without being hurt much in return.

It was a simple but effective strategy that they had spent most of their time as Team Rocket members perfecting it. It seemed to be working now. The Magmars had to use their own psychic powers to counter those of Maimer's and Metamorpher's. Crusher, Kicker, and Tantrum were a superior fighting force, injuring the Magmars as they pushed them back. Rapidash was circling, causing, some damage, and, still worse, a lot of confusion. The Magmars were thrown into disarray.

"We're crushing them!" Kris exulted. "Look at them, they can't even fight back!" He laughed. "I can't believe we were ever afraid of these wimps."

Karen frowned. In any normal battle she would have been cautious, but in this one, she was just plain suspicious. There was something strange about the way these pokemon were fighting back that Kris, in his excitement, failed to recognize. Only two Magmars seemed to be using their psychic powers to block Metamorpher and Maimer's attacks. In the meantime the other three Magmars, the ones in the middle, were the ones attacking Kris' pokemon. But they were trying to use fighting attacks, punching and kicking, clumsy efforts that Kris' pokemon easily repelled. But why use fighting attacks at all? Why not use their strongest weapon against fighting pokemon: psychic attacks? It didn't make sense. And the Machokes in the back weren't doing anything at all. They weren't even moving!

"These pokemon are hiding something," she told Kris. "We may be beating them now, but-"

Karen didn't even get to finish before.

A Machoke stuck out its foot, and suddenly Accelerator was falling, whinnying as it was hurled forward. Machoke's timing was astonishing. Accelerator fell, a bundle of tangled legs, right in front of Crusher, Kicker, and Tantrum. The fighters were blocked from their foes.

"What the...!" said Kris.

The three middle Magmars moved in unison. They crossed their arms in an X in front of their chests, looked up, and released a devastating confuse ray. Rapidash and all three of Kris' pokemon were hit.

And then, in a sudden switch, two of the Magmars joined the other two in using psychic attacks against Metamorpher and Maimer. That left only one Magmar to deal with the four confused pokemon. But one was enough.

Crusher, Kicker, Tantrum, and Rapidash tried to move and ended up stepping all over each other. They tried to attack, and ended up hitting each other. They tried to get back to Karen and Kris and ended up tripping and falling and getting crushed. The confusion was like a mist that had settled around them; the more they tried to break free, the thicker the mist became.

"What's the matter with you?" cried Kris. "What kind of warriors attack themselves instead of their enemies. Fight _them_!"

But the one Magmar left wasn't finished. It used a smokescreen attack, a thick, black gas filling the air. Karen and Kris coughed; the smokescreen had seeped towards them. It was so dark, they couldn't see two feet in front of their faces.

When the smoke cleared, Karen and Kris looked at their pokemon. Accelerator lay wounded on its side. Crusher, Kicker, and Tantrum's substitutes had long since broken. Even Metamorpher and Maimer were exhausted. They had to deal with double the psychic attacks, and neither was fit enough to battle two Magmars at once.

Karen and Kris looked at their opponents. The Machokes had changed position, forming instead a protective circle around the Magmars. They flexed their muscles, ready to fight. In the middle, the Magmars eyes glowed, ready and prepared to unleash a psychic attack if necessary.

Kris whispered to Karen with a dry mouth, "I think we're going to need back up."

"What we need is a miracle."

Nevertheless they withdrew their remaining pokemon: a Charmeleon, a Cloister, a Dugdrio, and an Electrode. Then they turned to their other pokemon.

"Get up!" cried Kris to Crusher, Kicker, and Tantrum. "You are great fighters! You aren't going to let a puny bunch of Magmars defeat you so easily, are you? You're better than that!"

"You can't let them win!" shouted Karen to Accelerator, Metamorpher, and Maimer. "You can still beat them! You have to!"

Their pokemon struggled to their feet.

"Now attack!" ordered Karen and Kris.

Karen's Ditto, still a Magmar and in relatively good shape, was the first to attack. It threw a fire ball straight towards the nearest Machoke.

Machoke grabbed the fireball in its bare hand and threw it right back at Ditto.

Karen paled. "It can't do that. It's not supposed to..."

"Ditto!" squealed the transformation pokemon, as it was hit with its own attack. It fled its Magmar form and emerged a Ditto again, bruised and beaten on the floor.

"Metamorpher!" cried Karen, retreating it back to its pokeball. "That does it Maimer, give it a taste of your psychic attack! Tunneler, use your rock slide! Explosion, use thunder! Accelerator, when they are through, stomp those Machokes to the ground!"

Karen's Mr. Mime's eyes glowed. Her Dugdrio hurled rocks while her Electrode lit the sky with electricity. Karen's pokemon were using their strongest attacks, and Karen was sure that that would be enough to weaken the Machokes, at least.

However, she had neglected to factor in the Magmars.

Like they had in the beginning, the Magmars used a psychic attack that froze the attacks where they stood. For a moment, time stood motionless with them, and in that moment Karen's stomach did flip flops as she realized her foolish mistake. Then time resumed.

The Magmars thrust Karen's pokemon's attacks back at them. Maimer was devastated by its psychic attack, Tunneler was bombarded by its rocks, and Explosion was electrocuted by its electricity. Rapidash leapt up, trying to stomp its enemies. The Magmars didn't even bother with it. A Machoke simply grabbed it and seismic tossed it on top of the others.

Karen winced. Her veteran fighters were beyond their limits and her back-up fighters, unused to being hit, were already defeated. She recalled them all. The battle now belonged to Kris.

Fortunately, Kris was a more skilled battler than Karen. "Crusher, comet punch! Kicker, help him! Fire Rage, don't use your claws, use your tail! Tantrum, get in there and then use your thrash!" Kris' fighters attached themselves to the Machokes, kicking and clawing without reason, hurting their enemy a lot, but also getting hurt themselves.

"Ice Storm, water gun!" Kris' Cloyster sprayed through the cracks in the line of Machokes to hurt the Magmars.

"Get in closer! Help each other out! Attack!"

It was by a tremendous effort that the Machokes shoved their opponents off with a gruesome lower punch.

Kris had been waiting for this. "Everyone, counter, now!"

They countered, sending back energy equal to twice that which the Machokes had dealt them.

The Machokes blocked it and sent their counter spinning right back at them.

"What!" screamed Kris. "They can't do that!"

The Machokes decided that they were tired of waiting to be hit. In one swift gesture, all five Machokes punched the ground at once. A tidal wave of dirt and dust and wind bounded towards them.

Karen and Kris barely had time to cover their faces before they were hit. It was like flying and falling all at once. It was like being hosed with a steady stream of the roughest dirt imaginable. It was like drowning in a sea of dust. The force of the blow simply picked them up and threw them into the semicircle of rocks.

The back of Kris' head hit rock, just hard enough to knock him unconscious. Karen, on the other hand, managed to curl herself into a ball, and when she hit the rocks, she hit them from the side. The breath was knocked out of her, her left side was absolutely numb from the pain, and Karen's head reeled with dizziness. But she was conscious.

She looked up. The Machokes were advancing towards them in perfect formation, a circle that never wavered or contorted. The Magmars marched in the middle. They each glowed fire red, and, in Karen's vision, blurred to become a single, bright pillar of flame. For a while that pillar of flame was all she could see.

Karen groped with her right hand for her pokeball and dropped it to the groud

Metamorpher came out. It was tired and wounded, in no condition for fighting.

Karen had no intention of fighting.

"Metamorpher, I know you're weak, but I need you to do this for me!"

Karen looked again at the Machokes and Magmars, so organized, so professional, so perfect. There was only one way to beat them.

"Go get Jaquie."


	7. Chapter 5: Damages

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly **(aka** Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 5

**Damages**

. . .

. . .

"So far, we've lost most of our food, and our communication equipment is either gone or damaged," Jaquie inventoried out loud. _Which is good_, she thought, _because I am in no mood to talk to Giovanni anyway_.

The beach was scattered with crates and boxes, some empty, some full, and a wreckage of paraphernalia strewn across the sand. There were packets of food, cooking equipment, clothes, tents, and the useless pieces of the damaged communication equipment lying out in the open. But the weapons had been carefully stored back in the chest after being thoroughly counted and examined.

"At least all the medical equipment is here," Jared said cheerfully as he pieced together the machine. "Electrabuzz, hold these wires together, will you," he instructed his electric pokemon.

Jesse, James, and Meowth grimaced as they unloaded the crates.

"This stuff is heavy," whined James. "Why do we have to unload everything?"

"Quit your griping," snapped Meowth. "Save your strength to unload these boxes."

James turned on Meowth. "You have no right to complain! You're not doing anything to help. Me and Jesse are the ones doing all the work. You're just standing around!"

"I'm supervising!"

"Would you two both be quiet?" muttered Jesse.

"Meowth started it!"

Jesse pried the top off a crate marked "pokeballs."

"We're supposed to be reporters, not movers," she grumped. "But, no, now we've got to do whatever Jaquie tells us to do."

"Do I sense some resentment?" remarked Meowth.

Jesse dropped the lid on his tail. "Do you sense some pain?" she replied as Meowth hopped about, clutching his swollen tail.

James reached into the crate to lift out whatever was inside. But instead of pokeballs, James felt something heavy and rectangular and familiar.

"Hey, Jesse!" he exclaimed. "Our camera! I found it!"

Jaquie looked up. "What camera?"

Jesse clamped her hand over James' mouth. "There's no camera," she said in a voice both sweet and phony. "We're just so excited about unloading these crates that we, uh, wish we had a camera."

Jaquie was less than convinced. "What camera?" she said again, approaching the trio. When there was no answer, she shoved James out of the way and looked for herself. "You brought along your video camera."

"And extra tape," James added and was rudely elbowed by Jesse.

"Your video camera and five extra reels of tape," repeated Jaquie, "in a crate that was supposed to be filled with our pokeballs."

Jesse yanked out the camera and held it close. "We need it to record our story," she insisted, cradling her precious camera. "You can't take it away from us."

Jaquie rolled her eyes. "I don't care about your camera. This crate was loaded with pokeballs!" She did a quick count. "There's only twenty-eight left. What did you do with the rest?"

"Well, they were just pokeballs. We had to throw them overboard to make room for our camera."

"You did WHAT?"

Jesse, James and Meowth cringed. "We brought some of our own pokeballs with us," said James, holding them out as a peace offering.

Jaquie cracked her whip against the sand, and the trio jumped. "Those are useless! We need the modified ones!"

"What's going on?" asked Jared, awakened from his work by the noise.

Jaquie took a couple of deep breaths. Patience, she needed patience. She hadn't lost her temper yet, but her annoyance was taking control. She looked at Jesse, James, and Meowth in the eye, one by one. "I'm going to ask you once," she said softly. "When you decided to stowaway on the ship, where did you hide?"

One by one, as she glanced over them, they looked down. "We hid in the crates with the pokeballs in them," Jesse said.

"What!" exclaimed Jared. "You mean the pokeballs are gone? I had to work hours on those things!"

"Jared," said Jaquie placidly, "do you think you could make some more?"

"Out of what? With what? Why do you think I made those in advance and packed them for the trip?"

"And our pokeballs won't work at all?" asked James timidly.

Jared looked at the pittance James offered and sighed. "I might be able to modify those slightly," he said in his regular voice. "They won't be as good as the ones I made before, but they'll be better than the regular ones."

Jaquie nodded. "Thank you, Jared. And we still have those twenty-eight in the crate. We'll be able to capture some pokemon at least."

How would this fit into her plan? Certainly she wouldn't be able to capture as many pokemon as she had first calculated. Which meant that she would have to make every pokemon she caught count.

Jesse, James, and Meowth were huddled together, apparently expecting some great punishment to be hurtled down from the sky.

"Get back to work," Jaquie told them simply and walked away.

Jesse, James, and Meowth all let out their breath at once. "That didn't go too badly," said James hopefully.

"Unless she's going to punish us sometime later, and she's just not telling us now," Meowth pointed out sourly.

"Well, at least she let us keep the camera," said Jesse squeezing it tightly. "Our new boss would fire us if we messed up this important assignment."

"Maybe we can tape some footage later," said James, feeling cheered. "We can explore the beach and tape the..."

A Pigey interrupted them. Visibly tired, it screeched considerably as it flew towards Jaquie's party, trying to communicate something. Flying close to Jesse, James and Meowth, it landed in the sand and collapsed.

"Meowth, what did that Pigey just say?" asked Jesse, turning towards their translator.

"Now what's going on?" Jaquie walked over.

"Pigey, Pigey, Pigey," the pokemon weakly managed.

"It's saying that Karen and Kris are in some kind of danger," Meowth told them.

"Danger...?"

"How does this Pigey know Karen and Kris?"

"Pigey. Piiiigey," said the bird.

"It says it's not a Pigey..." said Meowth.

A few moments later a Ditto stood where the Pigey had been.

"That must be Karen's," stated Jaquie grimly.

"Ditto, ditto, ditto, dittoooo." Ditto tried furiously to explain

"Karen and Kris are in trouble," Meowth translated. "They were attacked by wild pokemon, and they need your help Jaquie."

Jaquie nodded. She walked over to one of the crates and picked out a deflated backpack. Going to various crates, she filled the backpacks with choice potions, weapons, and other items she would need.

"When have Karen and Kris ever gotten in trouble," whispered James to Jesse.

"And when have they asked for help?" Jesse whispered back.

"How good of trainers are those two?" asked Jared, joining the conversation.

"Very good. Frighteningly good."

Jaquie had finished packing and fitted her backpack onto her shoulders. "Jesse," she said, scooping up Karen's Ditto, "do you know how to work that camera?"

"Yes, but..."

"Good, you're with me." Jaquie threw down her pokeball. "Jared, you're in charge until I return." Dodrio came out. Jaquie climbed on, pulling her flabbergast sister on with her. "Ditto, you'll have to give me directions. Dodrio, let's go."

A moment later, in a cloud of the smooth, soft beach sand, Jaquie and Jesse vanished. Jared, James, and Meowth found themselves alone on the beach with the crates, still half-unloaded.

. . .

A sharp kick jabbed Kris in the ribs. The pain revived him immediately.

"Ow!" he cried, clutching his side. "Jeez! What'd you do that for!"

"I didn't have time for you to wake up on your own," snapped Karen. Kris knew enough to recognize that they were in a bad situation. Karen got cranky when she was worried. "We're under attack. I don't think this is the best circumstance for you to be taking a nap."

Kris groaned. Sarcasm. They were in a _really_ bad situation. He groaned again. His ribs were sore and bruised, and he could hear the blood throbbing in his head like a painful drumbeat. In the muffled distance came the sound of pounding. It didn't make his head feel any better.

"What's going on?" he muttered and tried to get up.

Karen helped him. "I told you we were under attack! Use your eyes!"

"My head," moaned Kris.

"I am no less hurt than you are," said Karen. "But I'm up and working. Now quit griping and help me, Kris. I _need_ you." She was panicked and utterly terrified, he could tell.

Kris blinked in light, opening his eyes for the first time. They were walled in again the semicircle of rocks. Karen's Maimer had projected a barrier and was struggling to maintain it. The pounding came from the other side of the barrier. The Magmars and Machokes were punching and blasting it relentlessly, tying to tear it down.

"Okay," said Kris, breathing in quickly and trying to get his brain in order. "Now that I'm up, we can attack again. This time, I'll use Ice Storm to-"

"Kris, are you crazy?" Karen burst. "Your pokemon are totally shot, and you can barely stand! How do you plan to beat them?"

"Then, we can use your pokemon to escape-"

"I tried that! But my pokemon are exhausted, and you wouldn't move, and when I tried to get Tunneler to dig us to safety, they did some weird attack and the tunnel collapsed. They won't let us get away!"

"Then we can... we can..." Kris' knees buckled and his head began to spin. He felt absolutely sick. "Why don't you figure out what we should do!" he yelled. "You're the clever one!"

"I have thought of something! I sent Metamorpher out to get, Jaquie."

"Jaquie!" Kris leaned weakly against the wall, but still managed to shout. "What do we need _her_ for!"

"Don't act so stupid!" Karen shouted back. "If we try fighting these pokemon we'll be creamed!" Kris slumped downwards. "And don't you dare faint on me again or I'll kick you harder!"

A Machoke punched through the barrier. Karen grabbed one of Kris' revolvers and shot the Machoke's extending hand. The Machoke pulled back, and Maimer moved quickly to seal up the hole.

More punching and more ear-piercing shattering glass. Two more Machokes and a Magmar had broken through. Karen fired three more shots.

Kris felt his brain going numb. The pokemon were closing in, but they seemed so far away...

"Kris, you'd better not faint! Not now!"

Kris tried to stay conscious. He couldn't leave Karen alone, he couldn't...

Brain... Numb... Pictures... Blurring... Fading...

"KRIS!"

There was a deep rumbling sound, and, all of a sudden, a crack spread across the ground where the Machokes and Magmars stood, stopping just in front of the barrier. The crack became a deep fissure that swallowed the wild pokemon into the earth.

"Lower the barrier! Lower the barrier!" Jaquie, Jesse, and Jaquie's Ryhorn came running around the fissure towards Karen and Kris. "Lower the barrier, now!" The Magmars and Machokes were climbing out of the crack.

The barrier down, Jaquie and co. entered. Maimer, exhausted, didn't have the strength to put it back up. Jaquie put down Metamorpher. She had given it some potion, and it looked refreshed.

"Ditto, transform into Mr. Mime and put the barrier back up!" Jaquie ordered. Metamorpher obeyed.

"Now," said Jaquie, her voice hoarse from yelling, "can either of you explain what's going on?"

Kris fainted again.

. . .

James and Meowth were bored. A little frightened and anxious for Jesse, but mostly bored. Without Jaquie to take inventory, there was really no point in unloading the boxes, so they were left with nothing to do. Jared, busy working on his medical machine, didn't care what they did or where they went as long as they stayed out of his way.

They wandered as far from Jared as they dared, to the end of the beach, where the jungle began. There they sat, with nothing to do.

Above them hovered Jared's Venomoth. Jared didn't trust them alone, apparently having listened to too many of Karen and Kris' remarks about them, and sent his pokemon to watch after them. That was humiliating. They may be the worst Team Rocket members ever, but they were capable of taking care of themselves.

James sighed. "This assignment was supposed to be our big break. But so far it's been a complete failure. We haven't done a thing since we've been here."

"Hey, speak for yourself," said Meowth. "I'm not a failure. And you," he yelled at the Venomoth, "get outta here! Quit spying on us!"

Venomoth fluttered out of sight, but James was pretty sure it hadn't gone away.

"Let's face it," James said. "We're total losers. Even Team Rocket won't take us back."

"They'll take us back once we show up filthy rich," said Meowth. "If we nail this story, we'll have enough to ride back in a limo. The boss will welcome us back with open arms."

"I guess," said James.

He didn't want to admit it to Jesse or Meowth, but he had his doubts. Being back with Team Rocket, he remembered what it was like to be bullied and in constant danger. He was beginning to enjoy his reporter job. At least here he made enough money that he didn't have to steal food just to be able to eat. Plus, he kind of liked reporting.

But he couldn't tell that to the rest of the team.

"All we have to do is take some shots of the pokemon on this island, and, bam, we'll be rich," Meowth continued. "What could go wrong?"

There was a slight rustling in the bushes.

"What's that?" said James, standing up.

Out popped a small, cute pokemon. It looked like a pale blue rabbit with long round ears, sharp claws, and intelligent reddish brown eyes.

"A Nidoran girl?" said Meowth.

The pokemon bristled at the sound of his voice.

"Where'd you come from?" Meowth asked it.

The pokemon attacked.

. . .

Watching the Machokes shatter the supposedly "unshatterable" barrier of Mr. Mime had frighted Jesse. She'd been nervous just having to run past the Magmars and Machokes. But what truly terrified was seeing Karen and Kris' condition when she got there.

Kris was bleeding and unconscious against the rocks, and Karen wasn't much better off. She was sweaty and pale. Karen and Kris were strong, competent trainers. Their pokemon could actually win fights-consistently. Yet here they were bruised and scratched, dirty and desperate.

Desperate or not, Karen was not about to be polite to Jesse, not by a long shot. "What are you looking at?" she snapped as Jesse stared at her. "And what are you doing here anyway? Can't you ruin someone else's life for a change!"

"Karen, relax," said Jaquie. She, at least, was calm. Jaquie brought out one of her vials from her backpack and leaned over to revive Kris. "I brought Jesse along because she has a camera and knows how to use it."

"And what do we need a camera for!" Karen was yelling. _At Jaquie_. That frightened Jesse even more. No one ever yelled at Jaquie. "What good is a camera! This isn't a family reunion, for crying out loud!"

Kris revived just then. He awoke with a start. Jaquie moved away, and Karen rushed to help him.

"Hi," he croaked to Karen. "Is Jaquie here to save us?" he mocked. Then Karen moved out of the way, and Kris caught sight of Jesse. "YOU!" he roared, straightening up. "What are YOU doing here!"

Jesse quietly wished that she was somewhere-anywhere-else. It probably wouldn't have helped her to know that Karen and Kris were mortified to appear so weak to their former victim. All she knew was that they didn't want her here, and she didn't want to be here.

Kris spied Jesse's camera. "Are you here to cover your little story! I'll break your camera, then I'll-"

"I told Jesse to bring the camera," said Jaquie coolly.

Kris turned on Jaquie. "Oh, so you think this is funny. Your worst students are caught in a terrible mess, and here you come, the wise old teacher, to save us. I suppose you brought a video camera to treasure the moment." Kris sneered every word. "Well, we don't need you-"

"Calm down, Kris," said Jaquie quietly.

"-or your stupid camera-"

"I said, CALM DOWN." Jaquie's voice rose. She didn't yell. She didn't need to. Kris obeyed her.

"You think I brought the camera to gloat over your defeat?" she said softly. "I didn't. You think I expect to walk in and steal a victory where you failed? I don't. Consider it a compliment that whenever you ask me for help, I know your enemy must be strong. I also know that this will not be the first time we run into such opponents. That's why I need a tape of this battle. I need to see exactly what we do right and exactly what we do wrong. In short, I need to know our opponents, their strengths and their weaknesses. Otherwise, there's no way we can survive.

"Now," said Jaquie in a matter-of-fact tone, "I need to know exactly what happened. And take out your wounded pokemon; I have super potion to heal them." Karen and Kris obediently took out their pokemon. "Tell me everything about these pokemon that attacked you, and don't leave out any details," Jaquie warned. "They could be vital when I come up with a plan."

. . .

The Nidoran girl hissed, and a thick black liquid spurted from her mouth. Meowth yelped. The black goo covered his fur and quickly vanished, absorbed into his body. Meowth moaned, turned a hideous shade of purple, and fell flat on his face.

James cried out and jumped back.

The Nidoran girl turned to him and bristled.

Then, suddenly, she squealed. A psybeam from Jared's Venomoth sent her spinning back. Digging in her claws, Nidoran faced Venomoth and sprayed it with the same gooey, black substance.

The liquid slid off Venomoth and fell harmlessly to the floor.

Venomoth aimed another psybeam that sent Nidoran reeling backwards into the jungle. Crying out in pain, she retreated, gazing one last time at James and Meowth as it left.

James sighed with relief. He was safe.

Then he remembered Meowth.

Meowth was flushed when James picked him up. It reminded him of the time Meowth caught a fever, and in truth he was in no better condition: hot, half-conscious, and moaning in pain. But when Meowth was sick, he had turned a bright shade of red. Now Meowth was a dark, venomous purple.

James felt his stomach churn in dread.

"Help!" he cried. "Meowth's been poisoned!"


	8. Chapter 6: Cooperation

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By **Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 6

**Cooperation**

. . .

. . .

"There, I'm finally finished."

Jared put down the wrench he'd been using to screw the final bolt into place. The pokemon healing machine had been reassembled.

"I'm finished," he announced again.

The sound of silence greeted him. Except for Jared and his Electrabuzz, the beach was deserted. James, Meowth, and Venomoth must still be away.

Jared sighed. He had finally put together his healing machine, as good as any of the ones used in the pokemon centers, and there was no one here to appreciate it. It was frustrating but not exactly unusual. Few of Jared's accomplishments had been given much attention.

So Jared started working on the weapons. Most were intact, but a few had been disassembled. Jared rummaged for pieces and began to put them together.

He was good at putting together weapons-it was just about all he had done during the first six months he'd spent at Team Rocket. The senior staff of the Team Rocket science department kept him busy assembling their machines, unwilling to teach him or listen to his ideas. But the joke was on them; it was because of his ability to rapidly assemble machines that he'd been selected for this assignment.

Jared was halfway through putting together a heat-sensitive, target-finding missile gun when James came running into camp with a limp Meowth in his arms. Venomoth followed them.

"Meowth's been poisoned!" James cried hysterically.

Jared's was still concentrating on his machine. "Why don't you give him an antidote?" he told James, not even looking at him.

"If I had any, don't you think I'd give it to him!" James snapped.

The pieces of weaponry sprang their separate ways. In frustration, Jared threw the machine onto the sand. Then, pushing up his glasses, he took a good look at Meowth. To his surprise, Meowth was much worse than he expected.

James saw the look of concern on Jared's face. "This is really bad, isn't it? You think Meowth's going to die! You have to save him!"

"Nobody's going to die. Meowth's a pretty dark shade of purple, but it's probably just the effect of a toxic attack. Fortunately, I just finished assembling the pokemon healing machine." Jared was unable to keep the pride from his voice. "Just put Meowth in his pokeball."

James looked blank. "Pokeball?"

It took some doing but Jared managed to squeeze Meowth into his machine without him being in his pokeball. While waiting for Meowth to heal, James began to sob that if Meowth died from the poison and Jesse died in the battle, then he'd be the only one in Team Rocket left and he didn't want to be alone, etc., etc. Jared tried to reassure him, all the while thinking how ridiculous James was acting. Meowth was on the verge of being healed.

The machine finished. The cat was still purple.

James became hysterical.

Jared was perplexed. "I was sure I put this thing together correctly. There were no missing parts and the wires were aligned exactly right. What went wrong?" He began loosening the bolts to the outer panel to check on the machine's innards.

"What about Meowth?" cried James.

"There's some antidote in one of those crates," Jared replied.

While James looked for the antidote, Jared searched for his machine's error. He compared it to the schematic. He made sure the wires were in operation. He calculated possible mistakes. He checked the machine over and over again. Over and over the answer remained the same. There was no error. His machine was perfect.

"Um, how long before this antidote starts working?"

James stood, cradling Meowth in his arms. His vial of antidote was completely empty. But Meowth was still poisoned.

Jared took a deep breath. "We have a serious problem."

. . .

When Kris first joined Team Rocket years ago, he imagined his life would be the ultimate party. That's what the recruiters had promised him. If you wanted something, you stole it, simple as that. No work, no struggle, no bossy older sister. No rules.

He was quickly disillusioned.

Jaquie made it clear on the first day of school that this was her domain. Until you graduated, her word was law, and you would obey, whether you liked it or not.

So naturally, Kris decided to teach Jaquie a lesson.

He was only ten at the time and was convinced that the secret to training lay in stronger and stronger pokemon. The only reason Jaquie ran the school, he reasoned, was because her pokemon were stronger than everyone else's. If he could get his hands on powerful pokemon, he could overpower her. That was his theory.

He was wrong.

Kris didn't remember exactly what incident he had chosen to defy Jaquie on. He just remembered he was at the front of the classroom, yelling. Jaquie told him to sit down and be quiet.

"Make me," he had challenged.

Jaquie threw a pokeball in a vicious curve ball. It hit Kris on the side of his face. As Kris reeled back, Jaquie's Slowbro came out of the pokeball.

"Slowbro, psychic," ordered Jaquie.

Kris found himself hovering in midair, unable to move. Burning with humiliation, Kris felt himself glide through the air until he was floating just above his desk. Jaquie nodded, and Slowbro dropped him. He landed with a crash. The laughter of the other children rang painfully in his ears.

Kris angrily struggled to his feet. Glaring at Jaquie, he called out his pokemon.

Actually, they weren't really his. They were Jaquie's, the ones she had let them practice on. He stole them and administered the amnesia serum, a formula which made the pokemon think that Kris was their trainer.

He had ten of them. Most were rare and all were incredibly strong. Jaquie had only four semi-rare pokemon. She glanced at his pokemon, shrugged, and teleported the whole class outside where they had more room to battle.

It wasn't a fair fight. Kris had never meant it to be a fair fight; he had outnumbered and outgunned his opponent. But Jaquie's pokemon swooped in like a well-trained militia, and won the battle. Even as they fought Kris' pokemon, they somehow managed to pull Kris into the battle. With the rest of the class watching, he was battered and pounded until he lost consciousness.

For about a year after that, Kris stayed out of Jaquie's way. But he was like a fire smoldering. The rage was still there, but, remembering the battle, he kept his mouth shut.

Then Karen came, and it was like gasoline dousing the dying embers.

Kris didn't like Karen. She liked him even less. But for some inexplicable reason, Jaquie decided to make them partners.

Karen was usually pretty compliant with Jaquie's measures to the point of being teacher's pet. But on this issue she was vehement. At first trying to charm Jaquie, then trying to persuade her, Karen soon found herself in a raging argument with her superior. She ended up losing her temper, her sense of reason, and, after a lot of shouting, her voice.

That's when they decided to cooperate. If they could take down Jaquie, they could force her to overrule her decision. Karen wasn't above working with Kris, and Kris, still smarting from his last battle with Jaquie, welcomed Karen as an ally. Kris, for his part, had stubborn determination on his side. Karen was a cunning schemer. Together they came up with a plan to beat Jaquie once and for all.

They put their plan into action. This time they had their own well-trained pokemon, more experience, and a plan.

Jaquie still won, of course. Karen and Kris ended up thrashed.

They never crossed Jaquie again. That didn't mean they liked or they feared her, for they did neither. They simply realized that Jaquie was the best, and that, as far as they could see, there was no beating her.

But by conspiring against her, Karen and Kris learned the one lesson Jaquie never meant to teach them: cooperation. All those heated arguments, all those compromises, all those times they were forced to rely on each other-somewhere in all that, Karen and Kris became a team.

Now they just had to learn how to work with Jaquie.

. . .

Jaquie came up with the plan, but it was highly dependent on Karen and Kris. Their pokemon would be doing most of the work.

"Does everyone know what to do?" asked Jaquie. She'd already gone over the plan twice, but she wanted to be sure that everyone knew what was going on.

Kris mounted Accelerator, Karen's Rapidash. "We know the plan," he said.

"Let's get going."

Jaquie nodded. Jesse flicked on her camera.

"Barrier down!" Karen ordered.

"Mr. Mime, Ditto, Slowbro," Jaquie said. "Psychic."

Karen's Mr. Mime had been healed and had put up the invisible wall. It took it down again with flourish. Immediately Ditto-now turned into a Magmar-, Slowbro, and Mr. Mime unleashed their attack. Before the Magmars and Machokes knew what was happening, they found themselves suspended in the air by this sudden flood of psychic powers.

"Accelerator, go!" shouted Kris.

Rapidash reared upward and shot forward. A flame-colored blur, it streaked past the Magmars and Machokes (still safely levitated), not stopping until it had crossed the threshold. Now Team Rocket could attack from both sides of the wild pokemon.

Meanwhile, the Magmars were beginning to grasp the situation. All together they let out a psychic wave, which struck Mr. Mime, Ditto, and Slowbro. As the three pokemon recoiled in pain, they released their psychic grip. The Magmars floated down, still emitting psychic rays, while the Machokes fell to the ground with a crash.

"Tantrum, Crusher, Kicker, Fire Rage, go!" shouted Kris, throwing down his pokeballs. "Attack them with everything you've got!"

"Nidorino, Dodrio!" called Jaquie, releasing two more of her pokemon, "join in the

battle!"

"Accelerator, agility," ordered Karen. "Help Kris' pokemon out!"

At the same time the Machokes got to their feet and attacked.

Chaos erupted.

Jaquie could barely tell what was happening. Kris' fighting pokemon were in a frenzied rage, attacking everything in sight. Jaquie caught a glimpse of a Machoke punching Hitmonchan away only to be brutally jabbed by Primeape. Charmeleon was fire blasting, slashing, and tail whipping everything in sight.

Rapidash, Nidorino, and Dodrio had adopted three very similar strategies to help Kris' pokemon that involved running into battle, striking a Machoke at a critical moment, and dodging out of the fray before being hit. Jaquie herself used Karen's bazooka to spray well aimed blasts of ice at the Machokes. It wasn't very effective-fighting pokemon were pretty resistant to ice-but it did cause the Machokes some discomfort, to say the least.

The Machokes were in complete disarray. Their previous organization was lost; it was every pokemon for itself. Each Machoke was centered on landing a punch here, deflecting a kick there, getting up from a painful and quite unexpected blow from the three headed bird Dodrio. They were being beaten down, little by little.

The Magmars were another story. Even after landing, they continued their psychic attacks against Team Rocket's three psychic pokemon. Mr. Mime, Ditto, and Slowbro were struggling to contain their constant flow of psychic energy. Karen was the first realize what it was they were trying to do.

"These guys are smart," she shouted to Jaquie over the riot. "They're not trying to help the Machokes like we expected. They're trying to wear out our only pokemon that know psychic. Our side's losing—it's three against five-and if our three go, they'll be no one to stop the Magmars from wreaking havoc with their psychic powers."

"Then we need to match them," replied Jaquie, not taking her eyes of the Machokes. She fired two more blasts and two Machokes were hit. "We need two more psychic pokemon to block their attacks." She fired another blast and the bazooka clicked.

"But those are the only psychic pokemon we've got!"

"Nidorino, get over here!" shouted Jaquie. She put down the gun and reached for her backpack.

"Nidorino is poison, not psychic," Karen pointed out. "If anything, poison's weakened by psychic."

"I know, but Nidorino is my most diverse pokemon." Nidorino plowed through the battle and took its place next to the struggling Mr. Mime. "Nidorino," ordered Jaquie, "mimic. Copy Magmar's psychic attack."

Nidorino's horn glowed, and suddenly it shot another psychic attack at the Magmars. Karen was actually pleasantly surprised; Nidorino's attack was much stronger than she had anticipated. The Magmars were surprised too, but they quickly countered.

"Four against five still isn't good enough," muttered Jaquie. She rummaged through her backpack. "Karen do you have another pokemon?"

"Just Tun-just Dugdrio and Electrode."

"No, I can't use those, they're our back up. And the rest of the pokemon are busy..." Jaquie suddenly paused. "Jesse, what pokemon do you have?"

Karen looked at her leader, utterly shocked, but hardly less so than Jesse.

"Me," Jesse squeaked after a few awkward moments of silence. "But my pokemon don't-"

"Never mind. What pokemon do you have?"

"I have Arbok and Lickitongue-"

"Lickitongue will do. It's a normal-type pokemon. Normal-types are capable of learning just about everything."

From the abyss of her backpack, Jaquie had finally found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small white box.

"What's that?" asked Karen as Jesse propped her camera on the ground and took out Lickitongue's pokeball.

"This is a TTM-a Temporary Technical Machine." Jaquie pushed a button and the box opened. "This is a device just created by our own Rocket scientists. It teaches a pokemon an attack, for as long as it stays on that particular pokemon."

She stuck the TTM on top of Lickitongue's head.

"Don't let this device come off," Jaquie warned Jesse. "If it falls off, Lickitongue will no longer know psychic, understand?"

Jesse nodded.

"Lickitongue, psychic," Jaquie ordered.

Lickitongue stared, as if hearing something no one else could hear. All of a sudden it unleashed a burst of psychic energy. The Magmars, stumbled back, trying to deal with the equal amount of psychic energy pouring back at them.

"Okay," said Jaquie, letting out her breath, "that's one problem taken care of."

Kris, meanwhile, wasn't having quite as much success with the Machokes. He'd had a good enough start, but now the Machokes were regaining some of their organization. Even as Kris' pokemon were tiring, the Magmars were working together to present an even tougher offense.

"Hey, Jaquie, do you have any more superpotion," he yelled, half-joking. "I think my pokemon could use some about now."

Jaquie glanced at Kris' army. While they weren't exactly getting beaten, they were certainly losing ground.

"Okay, onto phase B," she muttered.

Karen heard her. "Shall l...?"

"No, not yet," answered Jaquie. "We have to get them closer together." In a loud voice that Kris could hear, she ordered, "Close in on them, now!"

"No problem," shouted back Kris.

No problem except of course that his pokemon were worn out. He had to do something unexpected to win. Unexpected and maybe a little crazy.

Kris grinned. Why stand there and let the pokemon have all the fun? "Now your in for it!" he shouted and jumped into the fray.

Jaquie looked surprised, but Karen just sighed. That was Kris for you.

Oh well. If Kris could help, so could she. Kris had discarded several of his electric revolvers; Karen picked one up and fired. It grazed the Magmar she was aiming at. Karen tried again. This time it hit the Magmar square in the chest. It tumbled down. Team Rocket's pokemon took advantage of the situation to force the Magmars a few steps backwards with their overwhelming psychic force. Karen fired more shots.

Between Karen and Kris' involvement, the Magmars and Machokes were being forced closer together. By the time they were forced back to back, unable to move, they grew desperate. It was time to attack.

The Machokes punched the ground again, sending Kris and his pokemon flying backwards, into trees this time. The Magmars joined hands and surrounded themselves with a pillar of flame, that nearly toasted the girls and their pokemon. The Magmars glowed fiery red, the Machokes flexed their powerful muscles.

"Okay," said Jaquie, "they're close enough. Time for phase B. Dugdrio, Ryhorn, come up!" she yelled.

Jaquie's plan had called for two parts. During phase A, Jaquie, Karen, and Kris would combine what pokemon they could spare and attack. This would hurt the wild pokemon, but more importantly it would distract them from the real purpose of the plan- phase B: the defeat.

Jaquie's Ryhorn and Karen's Dugdrio had buried themselves beneath the earth well before phase A even began. Now they reemerged, digging their way right underneath the feet of their enemies. The earth and rocks shattered around the wild pokemon like glass exploding. The Magmars and Machokes shielded themselves.

Dugdrio and Ryhorn broke free from the earth, then ran as fast as they could to where the girls were. Karen and Jaquie quickly returned them to their pokeballs.

After all, Ryhorn and Dugdrio were not the only pokemon hidden beneath the earth.

Karen's Electrode and Kris' Cloyster came out from the openings of the hole the two ground pokemon had left. Right in the middle of the Magmars and Machokes.

The wild pokemon blinked, uncomprehending.

"Now!" Jaquie cried. "Explosion!"

Electrode and Cloyster became two balls of pure, condensed energy. They erupted into a flash of blinding white energy that caused the ground to shake. Nearby, Karen and Jaquie could feel the edges of the explosion press against them like a solid wall of heat and light, and Jesse had to throw herself onto her camera to protect it from damage. Electrode and Cloyster passed out, all their strength sacrificed to the destruction of their enemies.

The Magmars and Machokes outnumbered the two exploding pokemon ten to two. They were a tough, resistant bunch, who were able to endure attacks better than most pokemon. But they were already exhausted from the ongoing attack, and the two explosions, combining together to create an even stronger force, was too much for them. They fainted, bruised, beaten, wiped out.

It was over. Team Rocket had won.


	9. Chapter 7: The End of the Day

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By **Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 7

**The End of the Day**

. . .

. . .

By the time Jaquie's group returned to the beach, Jared was almost as frantic as James. Meowth had not responded to the antidote-at all. And the healing machine had been of no help either.

Jared racked his brains trying to figure out what to do. He suggested letting Meowth faint and then reviving it later. Usually poison gradually dispelled from the pokemon's body after it had fainted, so theoretically Meowth would wake up feeling fine. James refused to let Meowth pass out and be left "alone" on this island. Anyway, it hadn't worked. And when James woke up from the sleep that Jared's Parasect had put him in, he was even more upset than before.

Now Jared paged through medical texts, trying to figure out why nothing was working. James administered superpotion to Meowth. It would relieve some of Meowth's pain, but it was not a cure and Jared desperately needed a cure.

Just then, Jaquie and company arrived, not adding to the general cheerfulness of the situation. They were all tired and dirty, and both Karen and Kris needed medical attention.

"What happened?" Jared asked grimly.

Kris grinned triumphantly. "We won."

Jesse gazed at Meowth. "What happened?"

"He was poisoned,"James replied with a smothered sob.

Jesse fell to her knees in the soft sand, overwhelmed.

"Get up, Jesse," said Jaquie. "We have to move." To James and Jared she added, "We found a place for camp."

. . .

Throughout the entire battle, Jesse's instincts said to run. Wild pokemon threw punches and hurtled psychic attacks, and here she was in the midst of it without so much as a weapon.

After the explosion knocked out the wild pokemon, Jesse drew out a long breath. As Jaquie and Karen cautiously walked up towards the fainted pokemon, Jesse stood back, half expecting them to get up again and fight.

Instead something much more terrifying happened. The Magmars and Machokes disappeared. It looked as if they had been teleported.

"How did they do that?" Jesse said.

"Fainted pokemon can't teleport," Karen pointed out. "Not even psychic ones."

"What if they didn't faint?"

"How could they not?" Kris said. "We had them good."

"Then where did they go?"

Jaquie cut in. "Someone else teleported them."

The group sank into a deep silence. Jesse could barely swallow. What had teleported the pokemon? And did it plan to attack them? Would there be another battle? The questions seemed to haunt the group, fluttering in the air like an invisible specter.

Jesse personally would have liked to teleport back to the beach, then right off the island. But those weren't options. Their psychic pokemon exhausted, the group had no choice but to walk back through the forest.

The forest was a mess, but a bright, noisy mess with singing birds and swaying of plants. The constant noise that made Jesse jump. The forest could hide wild pokemon which could attack at any moment, as Karen so nicely pointed. Kris pushed through the leaves and branches, letting them spring back at Jesse with a snap.

Actually, this was Karen and Kris on their best behavior. The victory seemed to have put them a good mood.

"We kicked their butts," Kris laughed and Karen agreed, "We definitely gave them a reason to be afraid." Kris went so far as to clap Jesse on the back and ask her if she had been sure to get his awesome fighting moves on tape. Jesse winced and said she had.

But after a while the forest got darker and the noises got stranger.

"You said you knew where we were?" Kris accused Karen.

"I thought I did," she replied back, rather grumpily. "Sorry if I didn't have time to make a map, what with saving you from the Fearow and saving you from the Machokes."

Jesse listened to them argue. As time ticked slowly by, their voices got louder and louder. Just when Jesse was sure the violence would begin, they suddenly, without warning, turned on Jesse, pooling their efforts to accuse her of being a bad luck charm. This led to a big argument, which left everyone drained.

Jaquie remained silent. She followed from behind, not making a sound.

Finally Karen, who had been leading the way at this point, stopped. "I'm sick of this," she announced in a cranky voice. "I'm tired, I'm hungry, I have no clue where we are. Our pokemon should be rested by now. Let's just use them."

Jaquie nodded, and Jesse saw for the first time how tired she looked. Her eyes were red and she blinked often. She massaged her forehead, her usual gesture of a headache. It occurred to Jesse that while everyone was arguing about where they were, Jaquie had actually been searching for signs of an ambush.

Jaquie took out her Dodrio. "Look to the southwest. Let me know when you've spotted our camp, where it is and how far away. Then, I'll send out Slowbro to teleport us. He was the least injured."

Dodrio took off, flying with an awkward grace into the shadowy corner of the setting sun.

"I'm surprised that huge bird can actually hover with those tiny wings," Kris commented.

Dodrio came back sooner than expected. "Drio, Dodrio," it said excitedly, tugging on Jaquie's jacket.

Jaquie followed Dodrio further into the forest.

She stopped abruptly.

The forest dwindled into a clearing filled with old tree stumps, small bushes, and saplings. In the middle of this clearing was a house.

It was made of roughly sawed wooden boards, much of it faded to an unattractive gray. It was small, but it had windows (without glass) and a door. The roof was made out of withered thatch. Choked with overgrown vines creeping up the boards, the house seemed old, but sturdy.

An abandoned house in the middle of nowhere.

The perfect base of operations.

. . .

"You must be joking. You can't be seriously suggesting we move into that thing."

"I'm perfectly serious, Jared," replied Jaquie. "Slowbro, teleport that box of weapons next."

The psychic pokemon fixed its gaze on the crate. A few moments later the box vanished from sight.

"There's a house, a human house, in the middle of hostile territory, and you want us just to move in?" Jared was unable to keep the skepticism out of his voice.

"Actually there was more than one. We found others, some distance away, also abandoned. It was like a small, scattered village. Slowbro, the pokemon healing machine, please."

Jared watched as the machine he had worked so hard to reassemble disappeared. "This doesn't seem like a good idea..."

"No, it doesn't," agreed Jaquie. "It sounds like a trap-or like an invitation for a trap. But night is falling, and we have no shelter here on the beach. Everyone is exhausted, and frankly, staying inside this house sounds as risky as staying anywhere else on the island. At least the house is something."

Jared shook his head and walked off, muttering his doubts. Jaquie continued directing her Slowbro to transport supplies. A little ways off, Karen was doing the same with her Mr. Mime, newly healed due to Jared's machine. Boxes disappeared with alarming speed, leaving nothing but imprints in the sand. When all was finished, Karen, Jaquie, and Jared teleported to the house.

Kris, Jesse, James, and Meowth were waiting there. They had been teleported over earlier, to unpack supplies mostly. Jesse and James were using their expertise to set up traps around the perimeter. They pointed them out to Jaquie as she came. Then Karen used her Mr. Mime to construct an invisible wall around the camp while the rest of the gang settled in.

There was a well in the front with a rope and a bucket attached. There was some debate about poison and disease, but Jared said that the pokemon would probably rely on their own poison, which was thick and a very noticeable shade of violet, so they wouldn't have to worry about that. As for disease, they could always boil their water. So that was that; they had a water source. Jaquie herself drew out a bucketful and heated it inside, in a small sauce pan on their portable stove, to make coffee.

Inside, the house was divided into four rooms, the largest in the middle and taking up most of the space with the other three rooms branching from three different walls.

They agreed that the largest room would be the kitchen/ living room/ hospital/ supply room/ etc. and that everyone be allowed to use it. Jared put the pokemon healing machine in the middle and arranged his medical texts and potions next to it.

The food and stove was shoved into one corner. In another, they arranged the empty crates and boxes into a table and chairs.

The rest of the supplies were basically shoved wherever there was space. There wasn't much room for the weapons, so Jaquie volunteered to house them in her room. That way the wild pokemon couldn't just walk in and steal their weapons; they'd have to get through Jaquie.

Then came the task of dividing up the remaining rooms as bedrooms. Jaquie said, with a testy note of authority in her voice, that she wanted one of the rooms for herself. Karen and Kris didn't mind sharing a room with each other-but not with anyone else. Jesse, James, and Jared argued hotly that they didn't want to all three of them share a room, especially since Jaquie got her own room.

But Jaquie pointed out she also had to house the weapons, and Karen and Kris wouldn't budge. Then there was the indisputable fact that Jaquie, Karen, and Kris were the senior members of Team Rocket, whereas Jared was new and Jesse and James weren't technically even in it any more. With the sky getting darker and the air getting cooler, they really had no choice but to grudgingly split the room between the three of them.

Once that was decided, everyone dove for the food. By this time it was totally dark outside, though the room was dimly illuminated with electric lanterns placed on boxes or on the floor. Karen and Kris found several cans of food and dumped their contents into a small saucepan. Jaquie drank her instant coffee and made herself a chicken sandwich with canned chicken and preserved bread.

Jesse did not to eat. "How can you sit there and stuff your faces when Meowth is sick?" she demanded angrily.

"Simple," replied Karen. "Meowth isn't our pokemon."

"Meowth could die," screeched Jesse. "Don't you care about that?"

"No."

Jesse glared.

James a little bed in one of the smaller containers next to the healing machine. He put Meowth inside and tucked in a folded blanket over him. Jared helped administer the potion, then pushed up his glasses and sighed.

"Listen, Meowth's problem is everyone's problem," Jared said. "I can't find a cure How much better do you think I'll fare when it's your pokemon that gets poisoned?"

"Who says ours will be poisoned?" said Karen, giving him a pointed look.

"They could. Poison type pokemon are among the most populous of species, and if they have that weapon, they sure as heck are going to use it."

"So you predict we're going to be poisoned sometime soon. By-pokemon?"

"I'm not predicting anything," said Jared, anger seeping in to his voice. "I'm only saying that this is a problem that concerns the entire group."

"In your opinion," countered Kris.

"Jared's right," Jaquie said. "This is everyone's problem."

There was no more argument.

"Well, what do we do? Meowth is still sick here!" said Jesse impatiently.

"What do you want us to do?" said Kris. "Jared's the scientist."

"It's not like I have a degree in pokemon veterinary," said Jared.

"But you have to do something!" cried James.

"Like what?" said Jared incredulously. "Do you have any ideas?"

"No, but..."

"Yeah," scoffed Kris. "Like they ever have ideas."

James turned on Kris. "Well, you're not exactly doing anything either."

Kris threw James a menacing smirk. "Why don't you come closer and say that?"

James stayed where he was.

"We're getting off topic here," said Jaquie, "Does anyone have any ideas about how to cure Meowth?"

"You know everything would be solved so easily if Meowth were a psychic pokemon," commented Karen.

"What?"

"Psychic pokemon can use recover," Karen shrugged.

Jared smacked his head with the palm of his hand. "Why didn't I think of this sooner?" he cried "Meowth can heal himself."

"Are you deaf?" said Kris. "Jesse just said Meowth can't use recover"

"Not recover," said Jared, "rest."

Jesse and James looked at each other with puzzled glances. "If Meowth could be cured by taking a nap-" Jesse began.

"No, no," Jared interrupted excitedly. "Rest is a move pokemon can use to recover health by putting itself to sleep. But the beauty is that, while asleep, the pokemon can't be paralyzed, burned, or poisoned. And unlike recover, rest can be learned by almost any pokemon, not just psychic types."

"Know-it-all," Kris muttered.

Jesse and James looked at each other again. "But I don't think Meowth knows rest," James said finally.

In response, Jaquie rummaged through the supplies until she came across a tiny box. "TTM number 44," said Jaquie. "Rest."

"What's a TTM?" asked James.

"I know what that is!" Jesse snatched the box from Jaquie, snapped it open and stuck it on Meowth's head. "Meowth use rest," she ordered.

Meowth closed his eyes. His breathing slowed. Before long, he was snoring softly, a rhythmic humming.

"It's working," cried James. "The poison's gone."

Sure enough the purplish tinge had faded.

They cheered. But Meowth's sleeping reminded everyone how tired they were. One by one, they each headed into their rooms. The lights went out. One by one, they each fell asleep. The house was dark and quiet.

Jaquie, of course, was the last one to go to sleep. Taking Jesse and James' camera and a cup of hot coffee, she crept into her room. One lantern gave off soft rays of yellow light. Jaquie watched the tape. When it had finished, she rewound it and watched again. And again. And again.

Besides her there was a notebook page full of scribbles in her handwriting. She took notes, assessing the pokemon's strengths and weaknesses. Once she stopped watching to write down Karen and Kris' details of their own battle.

Her coffee cup empty, Jaquie sighed. All she had was two battles. Three if you counted the one Karen had with the Fearow. It was hardly enough to find a pattern. Yet she pushed herself forward. She felt as though she had to. The house was quiet with the slumber of Karen, of Kris, of Jared, of James, of Meowth, and of her own dear little sister. But here was Jaquie, still at work.

She was the leader. She had to solve whatever problems came up. She had to be the best, and the best could not falter in battle. Too much depended on her. It was that same part of her that pushed her up the ranks of Team Rocket. It was what made her Jaquie.

But after a while, even coffee failed her. Jaquie could not keep her eyes open. Her brain jabbered nonsense and she couldn't concentrate. Try as she might, sleep overcame her. She had no choice but to accept it. Jaquie turned off her light and went to bed.

Outside, the night was dark and quiet.

. . .

"Are they all right?"

_ The Magmars complain of headache. They were severely tested in their psychic strengths. The Machokes are recovering nicely. Physically, that is. The nurse said they seem to be in mild shock. They hadn't expected such a great loss._

"And Nidoran?"

_She's fine. She seems very proud to have poisoned the pokemon. She won't stop talking about it._

"Did you have the opportunity to extract pictures of the attackers from our warrior's memories?"

_Of course. They weren't that traumatized. You can see their memories for yourself. The Magmars and Machokes reported three females and a male. Nidoran found a different male. And, of course, they all held various pokemon._

"Brutal savages."

_They haven't left the island yet. They're still out there._

"Yes, I know. They were prepared. This wasn't just some chance accident. They realized our citizens would be smarter than the pathetic pokemon they breed into existence. These humans must be stopped. We will stop them."

_They're stronger than most. Maybe we should tell-_

"No! I don't want anyone to know. Send out spies to find them. Position all our armies to attack. Warn those we can trust. But do not tell the other city mayors."

_They may find out._

"Not if we stop them first. We have to get rid of these humans at all costs. I'm not about to tolerate those slave drivers. Whatever the cost, we cannot let them harm one pokemon on this island. And you can tell that to our warriors!"


	10. Chapter 8: A Change of Perspective

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By **Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 8

**A Change of Perspective**

. . .

. . .

"Time to get up, old friend." Jesse gently shook Meowth's shoulder. The cat pokemon remained asleep. Jesse frowned. "Hey, I said get up!"

"You want them to come with us?" Karen asked Jaquie, voice thick with disgust. "Why?"

"I told you yesterday, I want a record of these pokemon's activities." Jaquie strapped on her backpack. "Someone needs to work the camera."

"But both of them?"

"They get into more trouble when they're alone." Karen and Kris opened their mouths to protest, but Jaquie cut them off. "No arguments. They're coming. Have you both got your equipment ready?"

Karen and Kris were walking artilleries. Each of their backpacks were loaded with weapons, supplies, and their lunches for the day.

"I think we're set," said Karen, swinging her pack onto her shoulders.

"Good." Jaquie's own backpack was lighter, substituting pokeballs for weapons. "We'll leave as soon as Jesse and James are ready."

"Stop fooling around, you stupid cat!" yelled Jesse. "Wake up!"

"Meowth?" James poked at it anxiously.

A small, mischievous smile formed over Kris' lips. "I'll wake it up for you if you're having trouble."

At that moment, Meowth's eyes fluttered open.

"Meowth!" cried Jesse and James, in horror.

"I take it Meowth's not supposed to be that color," Kris remarked.

The space around Meowth suddenly became crowded with people.

"He's violet again," Karen said dryly. "Poison."

"Jared can you explain this?" Jaquie asked.

Jared pushed through the barrage of people. "Here let me look."

All it took was one glance. Jared's face mirrored his confusion.

"I don't understand this at all," he whispered. "He was fine last night..."

"Then you must have poisoned him this morning." Karen's voice was utterly flat, as though stating a fact.

"Why would I do that?" Jared said hotly.

Karen shrugged. "You tell me. Traitor."

Jared shifted uncomfortably away from her.

"What do you think went wrong?" asked Jaquie, with far less hostility.

"I'm not sure. Meowth was free of poison last night. My only conclusion is that... somehow the poison's returned."

"Then make it disappear again," growled Jesse.

"It wasn't exactly easy the first time," protested Jared. Jesse continued to glared. "Oh, all right. I have an idea. Let me try something."

Jared ordered Meowth to use rest again. As Meowth fell into a deep slumber, the poison leaked away. Jared used an awakening. Meowth woke, and the poison leaked back in. Asleep, awake, asleep, awake. The poison would disappear, reappear, disappear, reappear...

"Enough of this!" shouted Jesse. "This isn't a magic act. Just make Meowth get better!"

Jared shook his head. "This has to be the strangest thing I've ever seen. I know rest is supposed to restore all elements of health while the pokemon's asleep-"

"Then why isn't it working?" demanded James.

"Oh, it's working, all right. As long as Meowth uses rest, he's fine. But as soon as he stops, the poison comes right back."

"What kind of stupid attack is that!" exclaimed Jesse.

"Well, it wasn't exactly designed to work that way. Usually the pokemon stay cured after they wake up. That's what puzzles me. Somehow the poison keeps coming back. It's strange. Most poisons don't work that way. Once it's gone, it's gone."

"What are we going to do?" wailed the hysterical James. "We can't wake up Meowth or he'll be poisoned. And Meowth can't sleep forever."

"Actually there's never been an experiment to prove that," quipped Jared. His wisecrack was met with blank stares and unfriendly silence.

"Jared can you find a cure for this poison?" asked Jaquie.

Jared hesitated. "You have to understand that this isn't exactly my area of expertise. I'll try, but don't be expecting any miracles."

"That's fine," nodded Jaquie.

"It's not fine!" exclaimed Jesse, and James added, "What if Meowth is poisoned forever?"

"He won't be poisoned forever," said Jared. "Look, even if I can't find an antidote, I'm sure some scientist back in Team Rocket will. In the meantime, Meowth will just have to sleep. There's nothing else we can do"

"Actually, I think this all works out for the best," said Kris. "The scientist gets a subject to experiment on, and we don't have to that cat's screechy complaints."

"Come on," said Jaquie quietly. "Let's go."

. . .

Jesse and James were still mopey as the expedition began, sourly taking turns taping the scenery. At last, James suggested using the opportunity to practice reporting. Jaquie had no objections. It ended up putting Jesse and James in a much better state of mind.

"And here we come to a grove of fruit trees." Jesse pointed to the scenery and smiled into the camera. "No doubt the dwelling of a drove of dubiously devastating Drozees. Or perhaps a pod of preciously perky Pikachus play here." Jesse lowered her voice. "Who knows what surprises-and dangers-lurk on this island?"

"So this is what reporters do? Blow hot air over nothing," scoffed Karen.

Jesse frowned. "As you can see we are not in the company of the most polite people in the world. Or the best-looking," she added haughtily.

A short derisive laugh from Kris.

"You do know that the minute we get off this island I am personally going to take that tape and grind it into powder." Karen looked Jesse up and down. "And I might not stop there."

"You'd better not!" This came from Kris. "That tape has some of my best fighting. There's no way I'm letting you harm it."

"Would everyone keep their voices down," Jaquie said. "I said you could talk quietly. I didn't say you could argue. Do you want to attract another army of wild pokemon?"

That pleasant thought got everyone to shut their mouth. With the exception of Kris who hummed a tune without concern.

"Hey Jaquie," he said Kris after a minute. "You may want to be careful. I'm willing to bet there's wild pokemon up ahead."

"Do they know we're here?"

"I doubt it," said Kris.

Jaquie nodded. She crept ahead cautiously.

Everyone followed her example. Once James, who was still balancing the camera, stepped on a twig with a loud crack that made everyone jump. He was showered with glares.

Up ahead the trees ended abruptly, making way for wavy plains of grass. The bushes, however, refused to follow the trees' lead, and continued to trickle into the clearing. The bushes were as thorny as they were thick. Jaquie paused. She softly parted the leaves and crawled through. Karen, Kris, and Jesse came after her. James in the rear, tucked the camera protectively under his arm, before diving in.

"Hey wait up," he whined. "How am I supposed to carry a camera through this mess?"

"Oh, like you have it tough," retorted Kris. "You have a five pound camera. I'm loaded down with about a hundred pounds of equipment."

"Thirty-five," corrected Karen. "The same as me."

"Shh!" hushed Jaquie from ahead.

Of all of them, she seemed to be having the least trouble maneuvering through the tangle of green. Her movements were slow, but deliberate. It didn't take long for her to vanish from sight, leaving the rest of them drowning in the leaves as they tried to catch up. When they found her, sweating and panting and grimacing from thorns, she was lying flat on the ground, head propped on her hands, staring ahead at the grassy meadow.

"Nidorans," she whispered.

Pink and blue Nidorans, chased each other around a single giant apple tree perched on the luscious green field. Several wrestled in the shade. Nearby a group of Nidorinos and Nidorinas basked in the sun, supervising their unevolved brothers and sisters.

Two pink Nidoran boys hoisted a little blue girl onto the lowest branch of the tree. The girl scrambled up and leapt at glistening red apple. Her claws scrapped the skin; the apple rocked, but didn't fall. With a yelp the Nidoran girl plummeted toward the ground.

A Nidorina leapt up, spun once, and created some kind of whirlwind attack. The small tornado caught the Nidoran and sent her spinning slowly to the ground. She hit the dirt with a soft thud.

Nidorina then lit the tip of her tail with a miniature flame and tossed it into the tree. The ball of fire flew into the stem of the apple and promptly disintegrated it. The apple fell. Nidoran caught it, crying happily.

"Clever," murmured Karen. She noticed James cringing and rolled her eyes. "Aw, do those little purple rats scare you?"

"One of those 'little purple rats' poisoned Meowth. You see how much you like them when they're attacking you."

"I need everyone to keep quiet," ordered Jaquie. "We don't want them to see us. Jesse, James are you taping this?"

James fumbled to turn the camera back on.

"What's the plan?" Kris asked Jaquie. "Do we surround them? How do we attack?"

"We don't. We're here to observe."

"What? Why?"

"First of all, I need to see if they're worth capturing. We're low on pokeballs, after all. If they aren't that strong, we won't waste our energy on them."

"And if they are worth capturing?" whispered Kris.

"Then we wait. We evaluate them and form a plan exploiting their weaknesses."

"Tell me now: do you see anything here worth attacking?"

Jaquie looked at Nidorina. Now she was using whirlwind to give the other Nidorans rides. Normal whirlwinds were erratic, but this one spun the Nidorans gently up and gently down with control and precision.

"There might be," she said simply.

. . .

Being alone wasn't exactly unusual for Jared. He spent his final year of high school being snubbed by most of the students and half the teachers. Even when he came to Team Rocket, the other scientists basically swept Jared into a closet and forgot about him. So it wasn't that Jared wasn't used to the silence.

It was just that he didn't like it.

It drove him insane. The quiet echoed off the walls, growing in strength until the absence of sound rang in his ears as loudly as a bell.

"Concentrate," Jared told himself. "I have work to do."

Meowth lay on the medical table, sleeping peacefully.

Jared, after carefully reading a medical text, had managed to take two blood samples from Meowth, one while he was poisoned and while he was "cured." Both samples tested positive for poison. As Jared had suspected, the poison had never really left Meowth's system. Instead it lay dormant while the cat slept. Obviously, a poison this strong would not to be affected by the standard antidote.

His book hinted that antidote could be created by using the poison itself. In fact, Jared remembered assembling a machine that did just that. The problem was that a pure sample of the poison was needed-and the only sample Jared had was mixed with Meowth's blood. He needed a poison pokemon from this island to cure Meowth, and Jared wasn't about to go out and get one.

"I wonder why the pokemon on this island have such strong poison," Jared said aloud.

If talking to himself sounded strange, then at least no one was around to hear it. He needed something to shatter the silence, even if it was his own voice.

"Something must have happened to them to cause them to develop a new type of poison. Some drastic change. Either that or they up and decided to change their poison themselves."

He felt inclined to laugh. The idea was so preposterous. "It's not like pokemon actually choose to alter themselves. That would require..."

Jared paused. What would it require, besides genetic engineering? Evolution? But pokemon evolved all the time. What if they took their evolution and applied conscious effort to strengthen their toxin?

Jared shook his head. "No, it doesn't work that way. Even smart pokemon don't have the power to change the type of poison they use, any more than I can change the color of my hair or my eyes..."

Jared stopped again. He could change those traits. It was called hair dye and contacts.

"This is entirely different." But even as he argued, he felt himself floating in a place of intuition and ideas. "For one thing these pokemon aren't using inventions. At least I don't think so. Inventions are used by humans, never by pokemon...

"What if there are humans on this island?"

It was plausible. The house would be impractical for most pokemon, but it was perfectly suited for humans. Primitive humans; the house didn't even having running water. But, still, it made sense. Humans could modify pokemon. Look how many humans used TMs or TTMs in order to teach their pokemon attacks they normally couldn't use in he wild. Hadn't he just used one on Meowth? Yes, it all made perfect sense.

"Except that these humans live in the middle of uncultivated forests in houses that don't even have heating," murmured Jared. "How could they create such advanced modifications?"

Some of the top trainers worked with poison pokemon for generations. Yet nothing like this had happened to them. And they had all the inventions of the modern world to aid them.

Jared suddenly thought back to the top trainers in his world. The best of them could understand their pokemon in a way science could never fully comprehend. Trainers who could connect with their pokemon were capable of raising them to astounding levels.

And yet, as much as they accomplished, could a human, any human, ever really understand a pokemon as well as it understood itself?

"Maybe these pokemon are as strong as they understand themselves. If they can think with the intelligence of a human and the perspective of a pokemon, they may be able to surpass anything we humans could do alone."

But pokemon just didn't do that. They were semi-intelligent creatures, but they didn't have the capability to advance themselves. Not on their own. Not without instruction...

"Unless someone trained them to think for themselves," Jared murmured.

But who would have done that?


	11. Chapter 9: Nidorinos and Nidorinas

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By **Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 9

**Nidorinos and Nidorinas**

. . .

. . .

Kris flicked a pebble. It skipped across the dirt, then hopped quickly into the green leafy abyss. He scanned the ground for another small rock to toss. It was as clean as a newly swept floor. Kris had already thrown most of the outstanding pebbles.

He was bored. Above him the sun had become hot and sticky. The black vinyl backpack he wore was filled with metal weapons which pressed against him like a large branding iron covered in cloth. His clothes were hot too; like everything else in Team Rocket they were black and so very efficient at harnessing the sunlight.

He didn't mind the heat; what he minded was the waiting.

While Kris burned, Jaquie looked very cool, partially hidden by shadow. She was taking notes. It made Kris want to shake her. He wanted to get up, yell, fight-do something. But whenever he tried to move, the bushes rustled and Jaquie glared. Noise was forbidden.

Besides him, Kris heard Karen's softly breathing. She'd dozed off. Lucky her. "And now the little Nidorans are once again in a wrestling competition," Jesse whispered into the camera's microphone. "The blue one is winning. No the pink. No the blue. Oh good, the pink one won. Good for her...him...whatever..." She yawned.

"How long's it been, Kris?" asked James, struggling to hold the camera up straight.

Kris checked his watch. "About forty-five minutes."

"It's your turn to tape events." James shoved the camera onto Jesse.

Karen jerked awake. "What's going on?"

Jaquie cast them all a dark look. "Quiet."

Kris made a face. Quiet, quiet, quiet. He was sick of quiet.

Karen rubbed her eyes and promptly fell back into her uneasy nap. She was a light sleeper and had probably been up half the night jumping at every strange, chattering noise. Not Kris, though. He'd gotten a great night's sleep and was bursting with energy.

Kris dug his fingernails into the soft dirt, until he hit a good-sized rock. He began scraping it out, griming his hands in the process.

"How much longer is this going to take?" he asked Jaquie.

"It may be a while yet," she said softly. "I haven't got them quite figured out."

"They're just pokemon. What's there to know?"

"It's not the Nidorans or even the Nidorinos that worry me. It's that one Nidorina. She's very good with her attacks, very precise. She's in control."

"She's only one. We can take them by surprise-"

"We will. Just be patient."

Kris grimaced. Patience. He sick of that virtue.

He pried the rock out of the ground. It was heavy and fit nicely in the palm of his hand. He clenched the rock in his fist, then threw it.

He threw it with much more strength than usual, and the rock skidded through the bushes, snapping twigs and leaves with a noise like paper crumpling.

Karen started awake. "Wha..?"

"Kris," hissed Jaquie.

Encouraged, Kris found another rock, a much larger rock, and hurled it out of the bushes. It smacked into a Nidorino. The horned pokemon jumped.

"Uh, as you can see we seem to be having an exciting change of events," said James, acting as reporter.

Kris stood, not caring that the thorns tore at him. "Come on you stupid pokemon! We're Team Rocket! You bunch of weaklings can't do nothing! We'll crush you like a soda can!"

The shocked look on Jaquie's face was priceless.

The Nidorinos snorted in rage and charged. The Nidorinas brayed as they rushed forward. Their feet clapped the earth like thunder, and their eyes smoldered fire. Jesse and James were like petrified statues as they watched.

Kris hadn't been completely thoughtless when he struck. He was ready for action and knew what to do. The insults were not just for taunting. He knew that if he provoked them, they'd play right into his hands.

As the pokemon stormed towards him, he reached into his backpack and pulled out an ice blaster, the smaller version of the ice bazooka. With the total concentration afforded to him only in the heat of a battle, Kris fired shot after shot. The ice blasted one Nidorino, then another.

Shot after shot, the Nidorinos and Nidorinas froze. A few Nidorinos saw what was going on and tried to help their fellow pokemon, but Karen took out her electric blaster and paralyzed them on the spot. Before long all the Nidorinos and Nidorinas remained motionless on the field while the baby Nidorans huddled together in fright.

Kris turned to Jaquie with a smug smile. "See how easy that was. We didn't need your little documentary."

Jaquie stood up, fuming. "What have you done! You've endangered the entire group with your heedless actions!"

"I just saved the group another 10 hours of waiting!" retorted Kris. "I defeated an enemy that you were so darned worried about-"

"And you missed an important detail!" said Jaquie.

She whipped out her ice revolver, aimed near Kris's head, and fired.

An explosion like a cannon blast erupted behind Kris. He could actually feel the flames toast the hairs on his neck. Kris turned and saw a lone Nidorina, lighting a fireball the size of a bowling ball on the tip of her tail.

"That important detail!" said Jaquie.

Nidorina launched the fireball, and Jaquie pulled the trigger of her gun. Ice and fire met and formed into fireworks of flaming red streaks and blue chips of ice. Nidorina and Jaquie both fired again, and through the noise, Jaquie yelled, "Karen call out your Mr. Mime, now!"

Another blast. Then another. One more explosion, and Jaquie was out of ammunition.

"Karen!" said Jaquie.

"He's out. Maimer, barrier now!"

Nidorina's fireball splattered against thick, hard glass.

Kris sat back down, feeling flushed from embarrassment. Near him, Jesse and James were clutching each each other, shaking.

"What do we do?" Karen asked Jaquie.

"I need your packs. Yours too, Kris."

Karen handed her backpack to Jaquie and Kris wordlessly surrendered his. Without ceremony, Jaquie began pulling out their contents and spewing them all over the place.

"Are we safe?" said Jesse, voice wavering. "Are we safe here?"

"I can still hear noises outside the barrier," said James, trembling. "What's going on out there?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" suggested Karen.

James didn't move from his spot, but sat cowering. Finally Jesse gave him a push; he stumbled forward next to the barrier. Slowly, carefully, as if expecting it to suddenly explode into a million pieces, James pressed his face onto the smooth surface of the barrier and peered through the thick distorted glass.

James jerked back. "She's freeing the others!" he exclaimed. "That Nidorina is melting the ice with those fire balls and releasing the frozen Nidorinos!"

"She's creating an army," said Kris with angry realization. "She'll attack us soon. We need to get ready to fight." He reached for a weapon on the ground.

"STAY AWAY FROM THE WEAPONS!"

Kris jerked back.

Jaquie glared. "I don't trust you enough to let you use them."

This comment slapped Kris hard in the face. "I was just..."

"Shut up Kris," said Jaquie. "Your mouth has caused us enough trouble for today."

Kris withdrew, raging and hurt.

A loud wail came from outside. Suddenly, there was a bang. Mr. Mime's invisible wall shuddered.

"What's going on now?" demanded Karen.

James pressed his face against the glass. "The Nidorinos and Nidorinas are all lined up, side by side. Nidorina's yelling something. The Nidorinos are charging..."

There was a loud whumph. James flew back from the wall.

"They're trying to break through," Karen concluded.

"Jaquie!" Jesse turned fearfully to her sister.

Jaquie was calmly unloading out several strange-looking suits. "Do you know what these are?"

Karen and Kris shook their heads.

"Those are Team Rocket's supply of rubber suits," Jesse piped up.

"They're good against electric attacks, but fire burns them to a crisp," added James. He and Jesse had used them numerous times to ward off a certain Pikachu's electric attack.

"More to the point, they also repel poison."

Crunch. A wide crack appeared in the barrier.

"But there's only four of them," Karen pointed out, "and I count five of us."

"There was only supposed to be four people here: me, you, Kris, and Jared."

"So who's the lucky person who into battle without a poison-proof suit?" said Kris darkly. At this point, he felt pretty sure it would be himself.

Jaquie didn't hesitate. "I am, of course. I'm the most experienced trainer."

"But you're also the leader," Karen pointed out.

"Which makes me responsible for the group's well-being."

Another crunch. The crack splintered.

"Everyone put on your suits," said Jaquie. "Then, take out a psychic pokemon or one that can learn a psychic attack. Poison pokemon are weak against confusion and we're going to take advantage of that."

Jaquie ripped open one of the pockets of the backpacks. The velcro made a harsh tearing sound. TTMs tumbled out.

"Here's how we do it."

. . .

_Now_, Nidorina yelled.

The other Nidorinos and Nidorinas ran in formation and rammed into the glass wall. Crash. The crack spread out like a spider's legs. One more punch and it would shatter completely. Nidorina's troops shook off their daze and backed up.

The barrier was thick and nearly impossible to see through. Nidorina looked for the tall, shadowy figures of the humans, but saw only the blue sky and a low expanse of blurry green. The humans were probably cowering in the bushes.

She'd capture them and send them to Gadara. It would be quick and easy, with any luck. Only... She'd been warned that these humans were strong, and, in fact, they had devices that mimicked a pokemon's ice and electricity. She hadn't expected that.

Plus, there was that one female human. She was very good with her attacks, very precise. And she was in control...

Nidorina shook away her doubts.

_Go_, she ordered.

Her soldiers slammed into the wall with a magnificent jolt that shattered the glass and broke the barrier. The glass disappeared as it fell. The Nidorinos and Nidorinas stormed the bushes, throwing up leaves. Nidorina ran into the thick of them, stomping thorns with her feet. She found weird pieces of metal and empty black bags.

But no humans.

She had half a second to wonder what happened. Then, they were attacked.


	12. Chapter 10: Prepare for Trouble

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By **Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 10

**Prepare for Trouble**

. . .

. . .

After the wall collapsed, the Nidorinos and Nidorinas rushed forward eagerly. They soon screeched to a halt, puzzlement written on their faces. It didn't take them long to figure out that Team Rocket was not where they were supposed to be.

"Miss us?"

Karen leaned casually on her Mr. Mime, her rubber suit sleek and shining in the sunlight. She gave the befuddled pokemon a charming smile, aimed her gun, and fired. A blast of electricity hit a poor Nidorina. It bowed low to the floor, legs paralyzed and helpless. Its outraged friends tried to attack Karen.

Karen smiled again and vanished. From behind them Kris attacked.

True to her word, Jaquie did not allow Kris to have a weapon. He did, however, have Fire Rage, his Charmeleon, with Jaquie's ridiculous TTM stuck to its head.

TTM 30, teleport.

"Take that," cried Kris as Fire Rage flame-tailed a hapless Nidorino.

A Nidorina tried to spray them with poison. Kris jumped in front of his pokemon and blocked him. The Nidorinos and Nidorinas looked on in shock as the poison slid off Kris' rubber suit without having the slightest effect.

Charmeleon attacked again, then teleported out of sight.

A Nidorino went berserk. He began attacking the other Nidorinos as though they were the enemy, pounding one with a double kick, freezing another with an ice beam, startling fast and efficient. One Nidorina tried to charge it. She found herself suspended in air, as though a giant invisible hand had picked her up.

Jaquie's Slowbro's eyes glowed red as he lifted and threw the poison pokemon, making sure it landed far away from Jaquie's Nidorino. A wild Nidorino spied Jaquie and rushed forward spewing poison. Jaquie teleported, and the Nidorino accidentally crashed into one of his teammates.

From the safety of the apple tree, Jesse and James reported the scene. They had used Jesse's Lickitongue and Jaquie's TTM to get up there. Somehow, in the flurry to get on their suits, James had ended up with the video camera again. The height of the tree gave James a good view of the battle, as he faithfully taped the scene below.

"As you can see the Nidorinos have been thrown into utter chaos," Jesse said sweetly into the microphone.

James panned the field. Karen, Kris, and Jaquie were teleporting madly in all directions. The Nidorinos were going wild, charging into one another, striking each other with their own attacks. Jaquie shouted orders in her own cool, calm voice.

"Maybe we should have warned the Nidorinos to prepare for trouble," joked Jesse.

But there was one pokemon who was not dragged into the roaring, charging mess of the battle, and that was Nidorina. She was the oldest, the strongest, the leader, and, though she boiled hatred, she assessed her enemy with sober concentration. They were strong, she had to admit. The fight would not be as easy as she thought.

A small cry caught her attention. The baby Nidorans were huddled together next to the tree. Most were whimpering and silent, but one was unabashedly crying with fright. They were so little, barely able to stand, and here they were witnessing their first battle. With two humans, one controlling a Lickitongue and the other holding some black metal device, perched in the branches above.

Nidorina barked a swift order to her troops. _Keep up the battle, but focus. Don't waste your energy or attacks. Don't fight each other. I need three volunteers to help me with the children now_.

She herself ran towards the two humans in the tree.

Through his camera, James saw Nidorina running.

"Uh oh," he said. "Jesse..."

Nidorina twirled a huge whirlwind up on her tail and tossed it into the tree.

"Hold onto something!" James yelled.

He himself grabbed onto his camera and clung to the tree branch for dear life. Jesse clung to the trunk. The whirlwind hit, and it was like being caught in a great, sucking vacuum cleaner. All James could hear was the rushing of the wind and Jesse's high pitched screams.

Jaquie heard them as well. She looked at the tree, bit her lip as Jesse and James were being ripped from their tree up into the unknown sky. Quickly she called out her bird pokemon.

"Dodrio, contain it!" she ordered, then had her Slowbro teleport her before she was hit with a body slam from an outraged Nidorina.

Dodrio flew into the air and created its own whirlwind. The two whirlwinds collided in midair and clashed in a great wind storm.

Jesse and James didn't know what hit them. First they were being uprooted from their tree, kicking and screaming, into the air. The next thing they knew, the air pushed them back down. But they were still being pulled up. But they were also being forced down. Everything had become a colorless merry-go-round at some nightmare carnival, when the whole thing just stopped, and Jesse and James found themselves in the same spot they had been in, thoroughly nauseated, but unharmed.

Fortunately Nidorina hadn't paid them any more attention after throwing the whirlwind. She got to the Nidorans, quietly sobbing and mewing for help. She and one other Nidorino gathered them up and began leading them out of the field, whispering encouragement, herding them to safety.

_Just to the end of the field,_ thought Nidorina. Just to the end of the field and they would be safe. Then she could return to battle. As for the other two volunteers...

"Rina, rina, rina." _Attack the humans_.

Jesse and James barely had enough time put themselves back together before they were attacked again. This time it wasn't one pokemon with a whirlwind. It was two.

Two Nidorinos came rushing forward, horns flashing in the sunlight. At first they tried climbing up the tree. Dodrio swooped down upon them. The pokemon grimaced back, with new red scars, but attacked again.

Jesse and James screamed, and Dodrio delivered another round of pecks to the pokemon.

_Pokemon_, thought Jesse. _Should I?_ she wondered. She reached for her pokeball.

A Nidorino saw her and slammed into the tree. Jesse lost her balance and desperately grabbed onto a tree branch. Encouraged, the Nidorino slammed into the tree again. The tree quaked. Jesse and James clung to branches. The Nidorino kept shoving itself against the tree, causing it to move like an earthquake, while its companion battled Dodrio.

"Jaquie!" yelled James, every time the tree shuddered. "Jaquie!"

And Jesse joined in, crying for her sister.

But Jaquie didn't hear them at first. She was watching, with an edge of worry, as Kris became more and more cocky.

. . .

"Ha! Think you can catch me? Guess again!" taunted Kris, as his Charmeleon teleported away.

A Nidorino rushing at him, charged straight into another poison pokemon.

"Where am I now?" Kris reappeared behind the Nidorino.

Fire Rage tailed-whipped it once, twice with its thick, heavy tail, then teleported away as the Nidorino tried to attack. "Aw, you can't hit nothing," jeered Kris from elsewhere.

"Kris, stop teasing the Nidorinos and fight," shouted Jaquie. The battle had become a constant crossfire of attacks, and Jaquie, without a suit, was forced onto the sidelines. Unable to fight, Jaquie was limited to watching the battle from afar.

She could see that they were winning. Some Nidorinos lay paralyzed on the floor, while still more were confused, hesitant, slowly being beaten into submission. A few more hits, a few more blasts of electricity, and the massive army would be vanquished. What they needed was a quick and decisive victory. They had the element of surprise, but they were greatly outnumbered; trying to win a long battle would be disastrous.

Karen, of course, was doing her job, going from Nidorino to Nidorino and paralyzing them in a neat orderly fashion. Kris, however, kept playing around. Instead of concentrating on just one Nidorino, he began teleporting all over the place, prodding Nidorinos and Nidorinas alike. His Charmeleon would knocked down Nidorinos, embarrassing them but not really hurting them.

Kris, like Jaquie, must have sensed victory. Unlike Jaquie, he had gotten drunk on it.

Jaquie tried to call out to Kris, but either he couldn't hear her or he wasn't listening. The battle had died down enough for Jaquie to risk teleporting in to stop Kris herself. The command to Slowbro was right on the tip of her tongue when her plans were ripped apart by a familiar scream.

Jesse and James were trapped on the apple tree with two Nidorinos fiercely battling at its trunk. James had gotten a firm grip on the base of the tree, but Jesse was lying prone on one of the branches. A Nidorino slammed into the tree. Jesse shrieked. With every slam she jolted further and further away from the trunk and on to the edge of the branch, her weight bearing it slowly downward, closer and closer to the Nidorino's grasp.

Instantly torn from the battle, Jaquie changed her order mid-command. Slowbro teleported her to the tree where her sister was in peril.

Nidorina herded most of the Nidorans into the bushes but there were five or six left mewing in the open. Most of them were crying and howling outright. Nidorina was trying to comfort them and keep them quiet as well as bring the stray Nidorans in and keep an eye on the humans all at once.

The Nidorino who had come with her had been a great help, but now the battle had distracted him. He stared at it, anxiously jumping about.

"Nido. Nidorino, rino!" he yelped. _We have to help them._

Nidorina glanced over her shoulder. "Nida. Rina, rina." _You're right. __But I have to stay with the little ones. You fight_. As an after thought, she added, "Nida nida." _Use the fire spin we've been working on._

Nidorino nodded. Then, with a cry, he ran into the fray.

. . .

There were days when Karen could tolerate Kris, and there were days when he was an impossible nuisance. This was one of the latter.

Karen tried to get a clear shot at the Nidorinos but Kris kept hopping around like a magician's rabbit on steroids, getting in her way. It wasn't Kris that Karen was afraid of hitting-his suit would repel the electricity-it was Fire Rage. If she paralyzed his Charmeleon, it wouldn't be able to teleport and then Kris would be in trouble.

"Kris, would you just pick some place and _stay_ there!" she yelled in frustration.

"Come on, catch me if you can!" Kris shouted at the Nidorinos, completely ignoring her.

Now there was something alarming happening. Two Nidorinos had stopped chasing Kris and stood, back to back, firing attacks. The trend had caught on and now all the Nidorinos were forming into a tight circle, sending ice and electricity at Kris and sometimes Karen.

"Now look what you've done," raged Karen. "They've gotten organized."

The three remaining Nidorinas followed this example, forming a group and firing at Karen. There was no point in teleporting anymore, so Karen had Maimer build an invisible to block the attacks.

"Oh, so that's the way you want to play it," Kris told the Nidorinos, still high on adrenaline. "I'll show you."

"Kris, don't do anything stupid," Karen warned.

Kris grinned and teleported into the middle of the Nidorinos' circle.

Karen groaned. Great. Now she had to go in and rescue her stupid partner from himself (or possibly kill him-she couldn't make up her mind). She called out her Dodrio and her Rapidash.

Maimer would have to maintain the invisible wall, while Tunneler dug a secret hole towards Kris. Karen would ride Accelerator through that passage, grab Kris, have Tunneler collapse the tunnel, and then beat Kris over the head for being so darn reckless. It was a strategy Karen had used several times before when Kris got into trouble, head beating and all.

While Karen was forming her plan, Kris' Charmeleon had gone into rage mode and so had Kris.

"Come on! You want a piece of me!" he yelled, punching and tackling Nidorinos here and there.

Charmeleon backed him up by throwing fire at all the poison pokemon in sight. While this basic strategy seemed to be working, Kris and his Charmeleon were still outnumbered five to two.

"Kris, would you stop acting like an idiot and get away from there!"

"I can handle this," was Kris' only response.

Fire Rage leapt up to claw a nearby Nidorino. Nidorino pushed him back, and Fire Rage fell to the floor. He was immediately up again, fighting back even more savagely. Only Karen noticed that Jaquie's TTM (the very one that gave it teleporting powers) had fallen to the floor.

"Kris!" screamed Karen.

"I can handle this!"

. . .

"Help! Help! I'm going to fall!"

Jesse clung to the shuddering tree branch She could see the Nidorino beneath her. He jumped, and Jesse could just feel the breeze of his claws. Unsuccessful, Nidorino resumed pounding the tree trunk.

"Help!"

"I've got you," said James. With one hand gripping the trunk, he tried to grab Jesse. The tree shuddered. Losing balance, James clung to the tree trunk with both hands. "Okay, so I don't got you."

"HELP!" screamed Jesse.

Jaquie appeared.

She materialized on Jesse's branch but closer to the base and tried to grab Jesse's suit. But Jesse, paralyzed with fear, held the branch tightly and refused to budge. The tree was shaking and Jaquie was having trouble hanging on herself.

"Dodrio, fury attack," she ordered. "Slowbro, water gun. Nidorino, come here," she yelled out into the crowd.

As her two pokemon attacked the Nidorinos, the tree stopped shuddering. Jesse backed slowly away. Jaquie helped pull her up so that she was able to sit, balancing on the tree branch and using other nearby branches for support.

"Are you okay?" asked James immediately.

Jesse primly dusted herself off and said in an embarrassed, haughty sort of way, "I was doing fine on my own."

Jaquie shook her head slightly and sighed. Jaquie's Nidorino came running in from the heated battle.

"Nidorino take care of those two," said Jaquie, pointing to the two Nidorinos.

He complied, involving the hostile pokemon in a battle far from the tree and Jesse and James. Dodrio was tired so Jaquie withdrew it. She rubbed her forehead.

"James," she said, "do you have your camera?"

Amazingly he did.

"I want you to keep a look out for a certain Nidorina. She's the leader; you should recognize her at once because she's a much better fighter than any of these ones. When you find her, record everything she does.

"I have to get back to that battle-" Jaquie began when a cry interrupted her.

A Nidorino from only a few yards away came rushing by. His eyes locked on the battle. He shrieked again. The remaining Nidorinos heard and all backed away at once, revealing Kris and his Charmeleon in the middle of their circle.

The charging Nidorino twirled his tail clumsily but still managed to form a huge tornado of fire. Slowly gathering speed, the tornado headed for Kris.

"Kris, get out of there!" Jaquie yelled. "Teleport!"

Kris and Charmeleon just stood there.

Jaquie shouted again and disappeared.

Jesse and James watched as spinning flames hit. The tornado of fire whirled in the center of the Nidorino and flared brightly. The fire cackled. Then, slowly it faded away. Nothing remained of either Kris or his Charmeleon. Jesse and James stared, aghast.

"What happened?" James said. "Did they disintegrate?"

The view from the tree was excellent, and had Jesse and James looked in the right direction, they would have seen Jaquie, her Slowbro, Kris, and his Charmeleon teleport to the bushes near where they had started off.

They would have seen Kris, his suit only slightly charred, angrily trying to get back into the fight. Jaquie restrained him, and the two exchanged harsh words. In the end, Kris sulkily withdrew his Charmeleon and sat down in a huff. Jaquie teleported away.

If Jesse and James knew where to look, they would have seen Kris slowly slither towards the discarded backpacks, making his way to the remaining weapons. But Jesse and James weren't paying any attention to the bushes.

They were too busy watching the Nidorinos attack Karen.

. . .

Accelerator sped through the tunnel. "Run, run, run!" Karen yelled.

Kris was in trouble. She'd seen the tornado of flame moving toward him, knew he couldn't get out. She had to save him. Just then, Dugdrio burst from the ground and told her the passage was ready. Karen was already on her Rapidash.

"Move!" she cried.

Accelerator's mane lit the dark tunnel. Shadows flickered as they raced. Karen gripped the fire horse's warm fur.

_Too late_, her mind kept telling her. _The fire will have got him by now_.

She gritted her teeth. Sunlight was pouring through the tunnel. Rapidash burst out of the ground just as the last embers of the tornado fizzled away.

Karen blinked. Where was Kris? Where was Fire Rage?

The Nidorinos blinked. What had happened to the male human? Why was this female human now here?

Karen was left with the feeling of a knight who had stormed into a castle to rescue a princess only to realize the princess was gone and, in the storming process, the knight had awakened the dragon.

Muttering how she would murder Kris, Karen ordered Accelerator back into the tunnel. It almost worked. While most of the Nidorinos had frozen in surprise, one remained charging.

Nidorino hadn't stopped running after he had thrown the fire spin and didn't care if it was a male human or a female human he hit as long as it was _some_ human. As the Rapidash turned back for the tunnel, Nidorino leapt. He slammed into the female human and knocked her off the horse.

Karen fell hard onto the ground. Nidorino was on top of her, attacking. Karen instinctively blocked, then used a practiced martial arts move to thrust her opponent away. She sat up and twirled to her feet.

The Nidorinos had regrouped and prepared for an attack. Karen grabbed a pokeball and released her Electrode.

"Explosion, flash!" she ordered and the Nidorinos were temporarily stunned by a dazzling ray of light.

Karen tried to back away, only to practically bump into the three Nidorinas that had been attacking her before. Electrode tried to shock them, but it was a weak attacker and the Nidorinas jumped all over the poor electric pokemon.

The situation was not looking good. Karen was an expert of defense and escape, _when_ her pokemon were with her. But now her main ones were all at the other side of Maimer's barrier, stupidly waiting for Karen's orders.

Suddenly, Jaquie's Dodrio came running into view. It nimbly scooped up Karen and frantically flapped its wings. While it was probably a miracle enough that Dodrio could actually pick her up and fly, it didn't really improve the situation. Karen and Dodrio hovered five feet into the air, not moving in any direction.

In short, they were easy targets.

_Jaquie_, thought Karen, as the Nidorinos and Nidorinas aimed attacks at them, _I hope you have some brilliant plan ready_.

. . .

It was not one of Jaquie's better days.

She had ordered her Slowbro to use a complicated swing teleport, which meant that they basically jumped into the fire, picked up Kris and his Charmeleon, and jumped back to the bushes so fast that Jaquie didn't even get singed. That in itself had tired Slowbro out, but she still had more work for it.

First she took care of Kris. She told him, in less pleasant terms, that she was tired of having him pull crazy stunts and from now until the end of the battle he was to stay there and not move. To say the least Kris was unhappy about this, but he eventually did what she said, and she gave him no further thought.

She didn't have time to, because by then, Jaquie had noticed Karen's predicament. She called out her Dodrio and sent it to pick up Karen.

No, Jaquie didn't have a brilliant plan-at least not what she would call brilliant. But she did have an idea of what to do. One thing Jaquie had learned as a trainer was that poison pokemon were weak to ground attacks, while flying pokemon were immune to them.

Jaquie called out her last pokemon, a combination of rock and ground.

. . .

Kris finally reached the weapons. Jaquie was a fool not to let him use them. Especially when Karen was in danger. Carefully, he picked up a bunch of bombs then searched around for a flamethrower.

. . .

"Earthquake," Jaquie ordered. Ryhorn stomped the ground, causing a deep rumbling reaction. The earth began to quiver and shake. The Nidorinos and Nidorinas fell and fell onto one another. Rocks jolted loose from the ground.

Karen, safely in the air felt none of it. Jesse and James, far from the battle felt none of it. Kris, slinking stealthily for the weapons, felt none of it. The lead Nidorina, still with the babies and away from the group, felt none of it. But the attacking Nidorinos and Nidorinas were thrown back and forth on and off the ground, bruised, battered, pained.

Jaquie looked at her Slowbro. "Okay. Your cue is coming up."

. . .

When Jaquie told Nidorino to take care of the two attacking pokemon, Nidorino knew well enough that she meant to get them away from the tree first. So he fired a hyper beam that sent the two Nidorinos flying into the bushes halfway across the field. Then he followed.

They tried to attack him, but Nidorino backed away, luring them further into the forest and farther from Jaquie. For all he knew these pokemon could have been raised in the forest, but it didn't matter; Nidorino was an expert at battling in environments.

He attacked one Nidorino, then retreated into the leaves. Attacked another and retreated. Over and over until the two Nidorinos were so paranoid they huddled together, bristling at the leaves, listening.

Nidorino jumped into the middle of them. Jabbing, scratching, double kicking, throwing attacks everywhere, the Nidorinos didn't know what hit them. They were so flustered that they attacked anything they saw, and Nidorino slipped away and watched as they fought each other. He waited until, beaten and exhausted, they both fainted.

Then he made his way back to Jaquie. Nidorino had barely broken a sweat.

. . .

Dodrio could no longer support Karen's weight. It dropped her. Karen fell easily onto her feet. All around her the Nidorinos groaned and tried to get up.

Karen's Explosion had been on the ground when the earthquake struck. Dodrio could not support the 147 pound sphere and Karen didn't have the chance to recall it. Her Electrode had fainted.

Karen patted it softly. "Good job, return."

"Take out your Ditto," Jaquie ordered. "Have it turn into Slowbro. Then get out of the way."

Karen nodded and obeyed.

Jaquie took a deep breath. Everything was prepared. But she didn't like what she was going to do.

"Slowbro, Ditto," she ordered in a tired voice. "Blizzard."

Slowbro was not an ice type. This attack was difficult for it, even more so because it had used up so much energy in the battle. But it used blizzard. And Karen's Ditto, mimicking Slowbro, did the same.

The air around the field became cold. An icy wind swirled. Ice, ice, everywhere was ice and cold and the already weak Nidorinos could not resist it. The ice covered them in a film of clear blue and there they stood, like strange misplaced statues on the field. Nine of them.

The last of Slowbro's energy had been sacrificed for the storm.

Jaquie smiled. "Thank you, Slowbro. Return."

. . .

The camera was still rolling. It panned on the ice statues, then focused on Jaquie.

"She did it!" exclaimed James. "Your sister beat them!"

"Well of course she did," said Jesse as though the outcome was obvious. "What did you expect? She is my sister."

James put down his camera and stretched. "It's all over."

Something caught his eye.

"Uh oh," he said, bringing his camera back up. "Maybe it's not."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember the leader Nidorina Jaquie told us to look out for?"

"Yeah."

"I think that's her over there." James pointed. "And she looks mad."

. . .

Mad wasn't a strong enough word to describe the outrage and torment she felt. Nidorina had finally gotten all of the Nidorans into the bushes and had convinced them to keep quiet. By the time she turned back to the battle, there was nothing left. Just all of her troops, her friends laying frozen on the ground in their agonizing poses.

Nidorina stood there, alone, her heart cold with hatred. Visions of revenge floated in her mind. She realized with startling clarity that it was up to her now to defeat these humans. She realized she was up to the challenge.

These cruel humans may have been able to take down an entire army of newly-evolved, peace-loving Nidorinos and Nidorinas, but _she_ was another matter. Not only was she an experienced fighter, not only was she the top graduate in her military school, not only was she a brilliant strategist, but she was angry now. Angry beyond description.

Her brave friends and soldiers would be avenged.

With a yell, she attacked.


	13. Chapter 11: Make It Double

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 11

**Make it Double**

. . .

. . .

Karen slowly stood and dusted herself off. Metamorpher, still in the shape of Jaquie's Slowbro, looked exhausted, so she withdrew him, while Jaquie similarly called back her Dodrio and Ryhorn. Karen's other pokemon still hid behind Maimer's barrier. Karen shook her head. She had trained her pokemon to do exactly what they'd been told without hesitation; unfortunately, she'd neglected to teach them to do what _hadn't_ been told. Her pokemon had watched Karen get beaten, blinking in terror and anxiously waiting for orders. The poor stupid things could do nothing without her.

Karen walked towards them, passing the frozen Nidorinos and Nidorinas. The ice formed a clear film over them, and the heat of the sun began to melt the outermost part. The new water glistened in the sun, making the ice look like wetted crystal. Fortunately the film was thick and wouldn't thaw for many hours more.

As Karen came nearer, she could see the anguished look on the pokemon's faces. Out of respect, she turned the other way.

She'd just withdrawn her remaining pokemon and was following Jaquie towards the weapons when a sharp cry awoke her from her lazy walk. A wild Nidorina charged for them. Karen muttered under her breath and aimed her electric gun. Jaquie, farther off, called out her Ryhorn.

Without warning, Nidorina split into two. One Nidorina headed for Jaquie, while the other raced straight towards Karen.

. . .

"Huh?" James, watching through the camera, blinked in the sunlight. "Did I just see what I thought I saw?"

"It looks like Nidorina just made herself double," Jesse said. "But that doesn't make sense, does it?"

. . .

"A double team attack," Jaquie told Karen. "And not even a very good one."

Jaquie had seen double teams where a pokemon created the illusion that of twenty or thirty duplicates. Here there were only two Nidorinas and one looked smaller than the other.

Karen fired her gun. Jaquie directed her Ryhorn to use rock throw.

Both Nidorinas reflected the attack and sent a thunderbolt spinning towards them.

Jaquie and Karen threw themselves out of the way. The thunderbolts just barely missed, ricocheting past them and burying themselves deep inside the forest. There was a noise like an explosion, and for many years after there would be two small clearings of splintered trees, torn bushes, and blacken ground in the jungle.

Karen rolled onto her feet, staring at Nidorina in shock.

"Tell me," she said to Jaquie, "exactly what kind of double team lets both pokemon attack?"

. . .

Nidorino heard the explosion. He ran to the area where the earth still smoked and saw the ash-colored gash the thunderbolt created.

Quickly, he sprinted toward Jaquie. Something had gone wrong. The battle was no longer in Jaquie's control.

. . .

"Now what's going on?"

"It looks like Karen's using her Mr. Mime to battle with. Jaquie's using-Jesse move your head; I can't see what's going on-she's using Ryhorn. Huh? That's weird."

"What's weird?"

"Well, I'm not sure-the zoom button won't go far enough to give me a clear view. But I think, I _think_, that Nidorina's winning."

. . .

"Ryhorn, stomp!"

Nidorina was faster. Like an acrobat, she twirled out of the way, landing Nidorino a painful double kick.

"Try horn attack!"

Ryhorn lowered his head underneath Nidorina and jerked upwards. But Nidorina, instead of taking a painful hit, balance her feet on Ryhorn's horn and used his momentum to fly upwards into the air. As she did so, she flipped around so that she was facing Ryhorn and fired a water gun at him

"Nidorino, where are you?" yelled Jaquie, getting frustrated and a little frightened. She needed her best fighter at her side. Now!

. . .

Karen, after firing several shots and missing, had run out of ammunition. She had time to wildly throw down one pokeball, before Nidorina had leapt at her.

Fortunately, that one pokeball contained Maimer. "Psychic attack, now!" shouted Karen, just managing to dodge out of Nidorina's path.

As Maimer unloaded a devastating surge of power, Nidorina was forced into the air. Held tight by a psychic grip, Nidorina's body crunched into a ball, pain etched onto her face. She closed her eyes.

"Take that!" Karen smirked. She spoke too soon.

Nidorina opened her eyes and, with great effort, uncurled herself. The psychic attack repelled, Nidorina fell on her feet, sweating and breathing hard. Karen had just time to wonder what had just happened, when what was left of Maimer's psychic attack barreled into her with the force of a hurricane.

Fire, ice, and electricity all sizzled through her mind. Karen clutched her head and fell to her knees. Pain! It shot through her. She couldn't think or focus on anything but the torture of the psychic attack. It felt as though every tissue in her brain was being individually torn to pieces.

She may have screamed, but, if she did, she didn't hear it.

. . .

"Hey, what's that? In the bushes?" Jesse said.

"You're worried about the bushes? Karen's getting murdered out there-"

"Just look!"

James managed to tear his eyes away from Karen, following the line of Jesse's finger.

"Hey, it's Kris!" he shouted. "He's not dead after all!"

"Nothing is going our way today!" grumbled Jesse.

. . .

There was an explosion. The pain suddenly stopped.

In a daze, Karen looked up. The remnants of the psychic attack lingered, a throbbing headache that made her vision uneven. But her hearing was fine, and she recognized the voice.

"Attack my partner!" Kris shouted in indignant rage. "This will teach you!"

There was another explosion.

Karen's vision was coming back to her now. She saw Kris emerging from the bushes, throwing Team Rocket standard bombs like they were javelins. Nidorina dodged blast after blast, but one finally hit. The explosion threw her six feet in the air, before slamming her onto the ground in a cloud of dust.

Kris grinned. "Thought you could beat us, did you?"

He started up his flamethrower.

. . .

"Dodrio, drill peck," ordered Jaquie.

Dodrio's heads drooped to deliver a peck, but Nidorina dodged the tired pokemon and used grabbed one of the three-headed bird's necks. She shot out another thunderbolt. Dodrio fell to the ground like a dead thing and lay still.

"Ryhorn!" Jaquie yelled.

Ryhorn used earthquake, which would have normally at least slowed an attacker. Nidorina, however, simply leapt over Dodrio's body and somersaulted onto Ryhorn's back, where the ground attack didn't affect her. She kicked and clawed, until the poor rock pokemon couldn't stand it. He snorted and stomped in agony, trying to buck the intruder off. Nidorina leapt off, turned, and blasted Ryhorn with a water gun so strong it sent him skidding across the field.

Nidorina faced Jaquie. Jaquie could already feel the sweat run down her neck and back. She had no more pokemon left. No one except...

Nidorino.

A pink blur rammed into the blue poison-pin pokemon. Nidorina shrieked. Nidorino's horn dug into her side.

Jaquie's heart was pounding, loudly, but she pulled herself together and yelled out, "Nidorino, double kick!"

The battle changed. Nidorino and Nidorina locked into a deadly combat of clawing and jabbing, of biting and kicking. At first, it seemed like a war of attrition. But slowly, with Jaquie coaching him, Nidorino began pushing Nidorina away, inch by hard won inch.

Suddenly Nidorina let out a powerful swift attack. Nidorino threw up a reflect, but Nidorina had broken free from his grasp. Before Jaquie or Nidorino could react, Nidorina threw a disable at them, a dome-shaped, invisible shield that made moving difficult and attacking impossible. Nidorino prepared another reflect, but Nidorina just glared at them.

She ran away from them.

Towards Karen and Kris.

. . .

The fire at the end of the flamethrower was amazingly bright, blue at the base, orange at the tip. Kris could feel the heat emanating from it, the power of it pulsing through him. He waved the fire at the Nidorina. She screamed.

Then she vanished.

She didn't faint, and she wasn't teleported. She simply disappeared. With a last disturbing screech, Nidorina faded into the air.

That startled Kris. He hadn't meant to vaporize her, if that was what he'd done But he shook his head, turned off his flamethrower, and offered his hand to Karen.

"Are you all right?"

Karen's eyes were dark. She pushed his hand away and struggled to her feet.

"I didn't need you rescuing me!"

"Well, what did you want me to do? Just stand there and let you get killed!" That was Karen's gratitude for you. "You could at least say thank you."

Karen turned away, muttering something. Then, suddenly, "Kris look out!"

Nidorina, a new Nidorina, sprang at him. She leapt between Karen and Kris, hitting his side and nearly knocking him down. Kris stepped back, waving his arms for balance. Nidorina landed squarely on her feet, eyes narrowing in on Kris.

"Maimer barrier," Karen yelled.

Whatever attack Nidorina had prepared for Kris slammed instead into Maimer's newly created invisible wall. Nidorina yelled, and turned towards Karen.

Mr. Mime's barrier protected only Kris. Karen was not behind the barrier. She wasn't even close.

Karen fumbled for another pokeball. Nidorina was quicker.

She launched three long spikes into the air. Karen blocked.

The barbs sank deep into the thick rubber suit. The tips just lodge themselves into the skin of her left arm and stuck. Karen felt a sting and a light trickle of blood.

. . .

Just a few minutes ago the battle seemed finished. Now Jaquie was trapped and Karen was reeling backwards with three spikes jabbed in her arm. So far Kris was the only one protected. But he was furious, yelling obscenities at Nidorina, pushing Mr. Mime aside to get past the barrier. The whole of Team Rocket looked like it would collapse into ruin if somebody didn't do something quickly.

"We should help," whispered James.

Jesse nodded.

"We could save them! We'd be heroes!"

Yes, wouldn't that be nice. For Jesse to do the rescuing for once.

"There's only a small chance we'd be killed," continued James. "And in return, we'd have respect. We should charge in, pokemon attacking, and save the day."

Jesse couldn't have agreed more.

Neither of them moved; they stayed perched on their tree, staring at the battle like petrified pieces of wood.

. . .

For a frozen moment Karen just stared at the spikes, not quite comprehending what had happened. Then, in one quick, angry move, she plucked out the barbs and threw them on the ground. They laid there in the dust, small dots of red collected around their purple tips.

Nidorina was still in front of her. She watched Karen with a sort of patient curiosity and did not move. From behind the invisible wall, Karen could hear Kris pounding on the barrier and shouting threats at Nidorina. The poison pokemon looked at him with a wicked menace and jogged playfully towards Karen.

Her overconfident manner revolted Karen. She whipped out her pokeball, this one containing Metamorpher-and suddenly felt a wave of nausea flow through her. She stopped where she was, shuddering. Her left arm throbbed, burning like it had been stung by an army of fire ants. The pain spread though her, filling her mind with a terrible haze that clouded any intelligent thoughts.

Karen dropped her pokeball, without motive or direction. It fell to the ground besides her and Metamorpher popped out. He looked terribly alarmed.

"Ditto, Diiito," he squeaked, pawing at her. Karen tried to push him away, but he became louder, insisting, "Diiiito!"

A clatter of footsteps. Karen looked up. Less than a foot away, Nidorina had halted, staring up at Karen without expression.

Karen knew she should order her Ditto to attack.

"Metamorpher," she said. "Change into... use..." Karen's vision was beginning to darken and she felt faint. "Do something!" she told Mr. Mime, unable to think.

Ditto hesitated.

Suddenly, Kris broke through Maimer's invisible wall. He relit the flamethrower and threw his pokeballs.

"Crusher, Kicker, Tantrum!" he cried.

Nidorina abandoned Karen with a swiftness that made her wonder if Kris hadn't been her target all along. Actually, that had been Nidorina's plan. The human female she could take care of later; it was the human male she was after now.

Or, more precisely, his flamethrower.

She rammed head first into the nearest pokemon, a Primeape, rammed into it hard so that it fell down. Nidorina barely flinched; she simply absorbed the impact, redirected her course and careened into a surprised Hitmonchan. Her last opponent, a Hitmonlee, was more prepared; it actually tried to block. Nidorina stopped just short of crashing into it, instead using her momentum to somersault over it. She landed behind it, and clubbed it with her powerful, twelve inch thick tail. She had taken down three pokemon in about 15 seconds.

Next she aimed for the male human. To his credit, he didn't run, but planted himself firmly to the ground, holing his flamethrower out at her. So much the better.

She threw a thunderbolt at him, and while he dodged, she leapt onto him. He fell hard. The flamethrower landed on the grass besides him, charring small patches of green into ash.

While he was down, Nidorina used her tail to unhook the empty pokeballs from his belt. Not an easy task for her; in the end, it was more luck than skill. Still, she was well-coordinated and as she balanced each one, individually, on the tip of her tail, she threw them. One, two, three. Each pokeball was guided by Nidorina's expert aim and one, two, three, the human's still-dazed fighting pokemon disappeared into their pokeballs.

Nidorina got off Kris' chest and allowed him to stand halfway up. But he was already reaching for his pokeballs, so she knocked him down again. This time he reached for his flamethrower. That was better. She let him stand and swing at her a few times, before she knocked him down again, this time with a lighter tail whip move.

Of course, he realized she was playing with him and knew he could do nothing about it. This made him madder than ever. His problem was that when he became angry, he wanted to fight. He faced her and stood his ground, never bothering to look behind him.

He tried some big surprise move which she had already predicted, but she gave him a couple yards anyway, just to bolster his confidence. She used the distance to slam into him again, moving him back some three yards. Still, he came at her, so sure he had a chance to win.

Idiot. If she wanted to beat him she would have that first time she pinned him. She would have dug in her claws and butted with her head. Or used some sort of special attack, water perhaps, or ice. Not fire though, because she had long since run out of those attacks. No, if she wanted to seriously hurt him, she could have. And would have.

But she didn't want to.

It was the first rule of training that when you found your opponent's weak spot, you sank your teeth in and didn't let go. Defeat the strongest first and watch the weaker ones sink in despair. Go after the leader and let the ranks crumple.

That was the first rule, but it only worked when you had a chance, when you were bigger, stronger, and more plentiful. She had the element of surprise right now but she knew-she _knew_-that she couldn't keep it up forever. She was outnumbered. She would lose-it was a simple military fact. Unless she had reinforcements.

The male human's fire machine had given her hope of that. Fire, after all, was one of the few things that could free frozen pokemon...

. . .

At first Jaquie did nothing about the disable. There wasn't really much she could do, since disables generally disappeared whenever they wanted. So she gave some super potion to her wounded Nidorino and let him rest. She watched the battle; she watched Nidorina. She waited.

But she did become antsy when she saw what Nidorina was trying to do. Inch by inch, she was slowly luring Kris closer and closer to her frozen companions. Jaquie wanted to yell. Not after all the sacrifice was she going to let those pokemon walk free again. Kris had to realize what he was doing.

Jaquie didn't scream exactly. She wouldn't let anger and frustration seep into her voice. But she did shout as loud as she could. No good. She was too far away, and the disable muffled her voice. Jaquie pounded on the walls of the bubble to get his attention.

Then, without warning, the disable broke.

. . .

Karen knew she should help Kris. That was her role. He provided the attack and she coordinated the retreat. She opened her mouth to command her pokemon, but the words wouldn't squeeze out of her throat. She reached for a pokeball, and her whole body shuddered. She tried to control herself, but she could not think.

And with each passing moment she became more nauseous. Her sight became teary and blurred. Her muscles weakened. She fell to her knees and collapsed in a prostrate position.

She was not unconscious yet. She felt it creeping into her mind, putting dark fingers around the edges of her eyes. Still she struggled against it. The only thought penetrating the haze was that somehow the Nidorina had done this to her. Had taken away her strength. Had prevented her of being of any use to her best friend.

Karen rose to her feet. It was like pulling herself out of a whirlpool, with the force sucking her down every minute, but she did it. She still felt sick, so she tried to focus her thoughts on her hatred of Nidorina. On her undiluted rage.

She called out her Rapidash.

. . .

Jesse had been watching the battle with increasing concern. Even with Jaquie running towards him, even with Karen to her feet, Kris was still too close to the frozen pokemon. Something had to be done.

"I'm going to do something," Jesse declared suddenly, aloud.

"What?" James asked.

"I'm going to yell."

. . .

Nidorina could already taste victory. The other Nidorinos were only inches away. She was so close to freeing them, so close.

And then a high-pitched shriek shattered the stillness

"Kris, look behind you!" yelled another human female, this one perched on a tree. "She's leading you to a trap."

From the tree, Jesse could see Kris glare at her, upset at her breaking his concentration. But Kris did turn. And Kris did look. And finally Kris noticed the frozen pokemon right behind him, begging to be released by his flame-spurting weapon.

Kris tried to turn off his flamethrower. It was his first instinct, apart form the chorus of self-berating _idiot, idiot_ that broke out in his head. He fumbled for the switch, but Nidorina tackled him first. He managed to roll to the side, keeping his flamethrower off the ice. He clung to it.

Nidorina leapt on top him once again. This time though she attacked, blatantly attacked him, clawing and head butting and nudging him toward the frozen pokemon. But he resisted. Kris dug his elbows into the dirt and thrashed, trying to throw her off, trying to make her lose her balance and miss her attack. She slashed him pretty good but he ignored the pain and didn't budge.

Nidorina was surprised by his tenacity. Every molecule in his body should have told him to move backwards. Instead, he stayed where he was, absorbing attacks that would make normal pokemon flinch. Nidorina cried out in frustration, biting his fingers, trying to rip the fire out of his hand, when suddenly she was assaulted.

Accelerator ran up to Nidorina from behind, slamming the pokemon from the side. This made the attack weaker, but it did send Nidorina spawling off Kris.

"Get on!" Karen yelled.

From atop her fiery horse, Karen looked grim and terrible, with eyes blazing hatred like a madwoman's, with golden hair loose and flying around her face. But she was also wobbly, queasy. She gripped her Rapidash with pale knuckles, praying to God she wouldn't fall off.

Kris stood, turned off his flamethrower, and leapt on, as they had so often done during escapes. Accelerator took off right as Nidorina attacked.

The horse sped across the field in an orange blur. Nidorina was fast. But she couldn't hope to outrun a Rapidash.

She screamed in frustration, slashing her claws into the ground. Then suddenly became quiet. The human woman with the red hair and that annoying Nidorino-the leader of these evil humans-stared at Nidorina with ice blue eyes. Nidorina squared her shoulders. She'd still have her revenge. One way or the other.

Nidorino's fur bristled and he let out a low growl.

"Easy," Jaquie said. "Don't let your emotions get in the way."

Angry shouts and panicked neighs drew her attention momentarily away from the poison pokemon. Rapidash pulled up beside her, Kris screaming to get off.

"I'll kill her!" he yelled. "Making me look like an idiot!"

"You're not going to fight," Jaquie told him.

"No, she's mine!" Kris' eyes blazed. "She can't humiliate me like that! I'll make her pay for everything she-"

"Karen," Jaquie interrupted. "Get him out of here."

Obediently, Karen gave the order, and her Rapidash sprinted off.

Jaquie drew a deep breath. Just her and Nidorina. Now the real fight would begin.

. . .

"Why are Karen and Kris running off like that? Where do they think they're going, leaving my sister to battle all by herself."

James had a sober look on his face. "I think maybe we should follow them."

"With Kris all mad like that?"

"Would you rather stay here with your sister and that Nidorina?"

Jesse looked at her sister and the Nidorina. Both had cold murder in their eyes.

"No," she said. "Let's go!"

Good thing Jesse and James had lots of practice at running away. They were quick and light as they jumped from the tree and ran over the trail of ash Karen's Rapidash had left.

"Wait! Wait for us! Don't leave us behind!" they called out.

If anyone heard them, they didn't acknowledge it.


	14. Chapter 12: Jaquie's Best Pokemon

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 12

**Jaquie's Best Pokemon**

. . .

. . .

It was not surprising that Nidorino was Jaquie's best pokemon-he was the first pokemon she had ever gotten, and the one that Jaquie trained the most. As a humble Nidoran boy, he had evolved and grown under Jaquie's tutelage. He was a veteran battler, the perfect soldier.

Nidorino was an incredibly strong attacker who knew a wide variety of attacks. His defense was excellent and his endurance amazing. Not only that, but Nidorino knew all of Jaquie's strategies. As soon as Jaquie gave the order, he knew exactly what her plan would be and how to carry it out.

But the main reason that Nidorino was so good was because he knew Jaquie.

Jaquie was the official leader of the Team Rocket expedition and the unofficial leader of Team Rocket. But above all the fancy titles she was give, she was, at her core, a pokemon trainer. As a trainer, she could be cold, stern, and ruthless. But there were also times when she could be the exact opposite.

From the very first time Nidorino had evolved, she was hard on him. Each day, endless training, for hours and hours on end. She had him swimming through pools, racing around tracks, climbing rocks, pushing through forests, and struggling through obstacles courses. And it didn't end there.

There were T.M.s to learn, technical machines that taught Nidorino attacks he never dreamed of learning. These T.M.s were awkward for him, and he found himself having to learn foreign elements such as ice and electricity. Yet Jaquie expected him to master every new technique within two weeks and she seemed disappointed when he failed to do this.

Since Jaquie seemed to foresee every possible situation, there were also an abundance of strategies to learn. Jaquie continuously tried out new strategies, rooting out the ones that failed, but expecting him memorize the ones that worked.

Then there were the battles. Battles with other trainers were as rare, for Jaquie was not apt to talking much with what she called "pokemon master wannabes." The real battles were the ones Jaquie set up during her training.

Nidorino always felt like they were some sort of test. Jaquie, like a judge, would observe him, and if she spoke, it was only to give aid to his opponent. Nidorino battled against Ryhorn or Slowbro-pokemon that were his weakness-one on one at first, then both of them together. He almost always lost, and Jaquie would sigh and shake heir head, as if asking herself what she'd done wrong. Nidorino felt horrible. He didn't want to let her down. Afterwards, Jaquie commented on the battle and the criticism seemed always to outweigh the praise.

The special treatment was given only to him. Nidorino, singled out from the other pokemon, tormented himself by asking himself over and over what he had done to deserve this punishment. He tried and tried at everything Jaquie told him to do, but he couldn't manage everything. He just wasn't good enough. And though Jaquie tried her best to destroy whatever flaws were inherently welded to him, it was no use. He would never be good enough.

Then one day, when Jaquie was supervising a free-for-all-battle, the videophone rang. Jaquie raised her hand for the battle to halt. The pokemon all fell panting to the floor, except for Nidorino, who wasn't particularly tired. Instead he watched Jaquie cross the room and turn on the screen. Giovanni was on the line.

Nidorino could tell at once that Jaquie was upset. Not because she was emotional; to the contrary, she became extremely cool and stiff. He could see the tension in that rigidity, hear the anger in the monotone of her voice.

Giovanni, too, was angry, but at least he showed it. He frowned and shouted.

A short while ago, Jaquie had had a close run-in with the police. She suspected, accurately, that they might have caught a glimpse of her. Giovanni was not happy. He muttered something about taking unnecessary risks.

"You're the one paying me to steal," she said dryly. "Did you think that a risk-free occupation. What did you expect?"

"I expect you to do your job and not get caught." His tone was patronizing. "I pay you to be the best. Start acting like it."

Nidorino saw that the hand that gripped the receiver trembled, but outwardly, her face didn't change, her eyes didn't so much as blink. Jaquie said calmly that she would do better in the future. Giovanni sneered that she'd better. The screen went blank.

Jaquie slammed down the receiver. It grazed the screen with a loud CLANG and wilted to the floor, hanging below the table by its limp cord, swaying back and forth. Jaquie pounded on the table with her fist.

"Why do I have to be perfect at everything all the time?!" she screamed. "I HATE THIS! I HATE THIS!"

Her unbridled violence suddenly collapsed, and Jaquie fell to her knees on the floor, clutched the table as though it were the only thing holding her into the world, and cried.

Nidorino was stunned. He'd rarely seen Jaquie angry. He had never seen her cry. But now, stifled sobs wrung through her body as she hid her face from her pokemon. Before long the sobbing became more subdued, then stopped altogether. For a few brief moments the gym lapsed into silence. Then, in one quick gesture, Jaquie brushed away her tears and stood up. Her red, swollen eyes were the only indication that anything had ever been wrong.

"I think you've practiced enough today," she said in her usual, composed voice. "Return."

The next time Nidorino was summoned out, they were on the beach. Jaquie wore a bathing suit and sun glasses and reclined in a beach chair under the sun.

"I've informed Giovanni that I need a vacation," she said. "So for the next three and a half days there will be no battles. For the next three in a half days, I do not intend to think once about work. So enjoy yourself, go play, have fun."

Nidorino, as he always did, obeyed Jaquie.

He splashed in the waves, he talked with the other pokemon, and he sat on the beach, feeling the breeze whip through his fur, feeling the sand beneath his paws, watching the ocean dance and the sun set, and doing absolutely _nothing_.

When night came, Jaquie and her pokemon wrapped themselves in blankets and settled themselves in the sand on the beach to look at the stars. In the calm quiet, Jaquie spoke to them.

"I've been, hard on you, I know. Especially to you." She looked at Nidorino. "I guess, it's just because I see the potential in you, and I want you to achieve it. You all have so much talent and you've grown so much. I'm very proud of you. But I guess I don't show it well or tell you often enough."

Her voice, unpracticed in kindness, was rough, but there was a sincerity to it which Nidorino didn't doubt.

Jaquie paused. "In many ways, I've treated you the way Giovanni treats me. I work you too hard and expect you to be perfect at everything, even though I know that's not possible. I never encourage you; I just expect you to obey my orders to the point of exhaustion. I tell you to be the best, but the best is never good enough." Her voice became flat. "I hate him, Giovanni. I don't blame you if you hate me."

Nidorino wanted to reply that, no, he didn't hate her. But Jaquie continued.

"I'm not going to be Giovanni," she said fiercely. It was the first real emotion she had uttered that day, whispered with such conviction and passion that it almost startled Nidorino. "There are times," she continued, "when I'm committing a crime, when I tear a pokemon from its trainer without any sort of feeling, that I think I really am evil. That I didn't used to be, but somehow, here in Team Rocket, I've become that way."

She hung her head, wrapping her arms around her legs. "I want to get out of Team Rocket, but I can't. Giovanni has spies watching my family. I'm fifteen and I've already committed myself to crime; I have no future."

"But there is one thing I know I will never do: I will not become like Giovanni." Her eyes were dark. "I don't care how evil I am, what crimes I have to commit. Some things are mine and those he'll never take from me. Never."

For a moment, there was no sound but the waves. Jaquie stared hard into the black water. Then, her expression softened.

"But I've been acting like him lately, haven't I? I'm sorry. I'll change. I have no right to put so much pressure on you. No right, no right at all."

Then, with hesitant affection, she pulled all her pokemon close to her.

Up until that night Jaquie had always been his trainer, his teacher, has master. But now, for the first time, Nidorino saw here as a person too.

The next two days were fun, and then it was back to business as usual. And Jaquie did change. She was still stern, but she tried to praise them more and cut back on the criticism. She showed more affection.

At the same time, Nidorino began to look at Jaquie differently. The training was not a punishment, but a privilege. It made him strong. Not just that his attacks became more powerful, but that he could adapt to anything. He didn't need Jaquie to tell him what to do. He already knew. She could direct him without saying a word.

But more than anything else, he began to see her as his friend. When she was lonely, she'd call him out. When she was sad, she'd cry with him. When she was happy, they'd celebrate together. There were times when Nidorino knew Jaquie better than she knew herself.

That one night, twelve years ago had changed everything. And now, with Nidorina looming toward him, Nidorino was not frightened. He had confidence. He had courage. He had Jaquie.

And he would protect her no matter what.

. . .

Nidorina stared unflinchingly into her opponent's eyes. She had a plan.

She was very good at setting "traps," as she called them. Now she pictured the field in her mind. Behind her the land sloped steeply downward until it turned into a small ravine, a ditch almost, well-concealed by the long stalks of grass. The Nidorans liked to tumble down it. Nidorina, though, could use it for other purposes.

In a blur of movement, she charged. She saw Nidorino standing there like a rock, eager and expectant. But before they could lock into combat, Nidorina was up in the air twisting her body in a somersault, her signature move. She caught a glimpse of Nidorino, a purple streak against the green. Suddenly something grazed her, a cold, numbing blast of a frost blue color that threw her off balance. Spinning through the air, she forced a landing and crumpled to the floor. But she had achieved her goal of landing behind Nidorino.

Nidorino spun around and shot another ice beam. She dodged, but this slowed her recovery and she didn't even have time to regain her footing before Nidorino charged into her, horn gleaming in the sun.

Though Nidorino seemed to be winning, Jaquie did not expect that strength alone would triumph against Nidorina. She needed a way to gain a complete offensive advantage. The weapons and pokeballs, she remembered, were still strewn in the bushes. Still keeping her eyes on the battle, she began to edge towards them.

Nidorina, in the meantime, had managed to force a light screen between her and Nidorino. Nidorino shattered it in one heaving horn drill, but it had given Nidorina enough time to recover herself. She knew she could not win Nidorino in head to horn combat, so gathering her strength and energy, she shot a hyper beam at Nidorino. The white blast of pure energy hit Nidorino squarely and sent him flying backwards.

Jaquie saw this. Her body froze, but her mind swirled in a surge of activity. Then, with resolve, she ordered, "Be strong Nidorino." She did not wince as Nidorina continued the merciless assault on her pokemon.

Nidorino understood Jaquie's words. It was a part of Jaquie's strategy that she never gave her pokemon direct orders if she could help it, since that would give their opponent the advantage of knowing what was coming. The best Nidorino got were encrypted messages, but Nidorino knew how to decode them. When Jaquie told him to "be strong," he immediately stopped resisting. Nidorina butted him, clawed him, tried to thrash him, but he bent to her will, letting her use up her energy. As for her attacks, as he absorbed them, it hardly hurt and succeeded only in moving him forward.

Nidorina knew well from his relaxed, easy expression that she was not really doing much damage to him. It didn't matter. With her energy ebbing, she pushed him forward with one last shove. And Nidorino's face suddenly turned to surprise when he found himself landing not on soft earth, but in the air. He stumbled, then plummeted downwards into the ditch.

She sent a thunder wave after him, wearily, and quickly pulled herself away from the ditch to take some much needed breaths. Still panting, she turned towards Jaquie. The attack had greatly worn her out, but as her eyes focused on the human, she knew her victory was in hand. The thunder wave should paralyze Nidorino. There was no way he could get out of the hole. She would go after the human and return to the Nidorino at her leisure.

The human knew Nidorina was coming and, as was the case for all humans, decided to save herself rather than help her pokemon. Her last words reflected the very selfishness of humans: a bit of comforting, nonsensical advice, and then abandon.

"Nidorino," the human cried, "Try to get away. But stay there if you must. Save yourself."

Whatever that was supposed to mean.

. . .

Nidorino knew exactly what it meant.

When Nidorino had teetered on the edge of the earth, when he had felt the sudden, powerful grip of gravity pull him down into nothing, Nidorino used reflect. It a reflex, something Jaquie had drilled into him: when caught unawares, put up a temporary shield and don't let your enemy exploit your weakness. As the reflect went up, Nidorina's thunder wave bounced right off and did not touch him.

At the bottom of the ditch, he lay, taking deep breaths and trying to unscramble his scattered wits. He was prepared to reflect again if Nidorina reappeared, but she did nothing else. And when Nidorino heard Jaquie's words, he was quite sure, for the present at least, that Nidorina was no menace towards him.

"Try to get a way."

Jaquie knew that Nidorino was perfectly unharmed. What she wanted then was not for him to escape, but to find a way in which to get to Nidorina. This was not Nidorino's strong point; he knew how to react in the blink of an eye to an attack, but long term planning was a little out of his league. Fortunately, Jaquie had provided a solution for him.

"But stay there if you must."

Nidorino was terrific at adapting to his environment and Jaquie knew it. Clearly, she wanted him to stay in that environment, which was basically a hole in the ground. He had to get Nidorina while at the same time stay where he was. In other words, bring the environment to Nidorina.

Nidorino buried his claws into the side if the ditch and began ripping away the moist, clingy dirt. He dug deeper and deeper, transforming the side of the hill into a hole, elongating the hole into a tunnel. Holes and underground tunnels were a favorite strategy of Jaquie, if only for their surprise.

But the last words Jaquie had spoke troubled him.

"Save yourself."

Nidorino knew that Jaquie spoke in twisted words and contradictions, he also knew she was a minimalist. Sometimes what was more important was what she hadn't said. "Save yourself, _but don't save me._"

In short, Jaquie would be on her own.

. . .

Jaquie was a good ways from Nidorina and ran as fast as she could for the bushes. For now Nidorina, visibly tired from the attack, ambled after Jaquie as though she had all the time in the world. But Jaquie knew this luck couldn't last. Sooner or later Nidorina would wizened to the fact that Jaquie was running straight for the weapons.

Sure enough, a cackle of electricity ripped through the sky.

Jaquie dove into the bushes, a thunderbolt attack whizzing right above her head. She heard the rapid clatter of footsteps coming up behind her. Jaquie swept the ground with her arm; her hand found her ice gun. She loaded it and scrambled for one or two pokeballs. Then she paused; the footsteps had given way and the air around her was now still.

They came out of the bushes in all directions. Fifteen Nidorina surrounded her. They closed in.

Jaquie, gun held lightly at her side, didn't move. She felt nervousness creep over her as it always did, in small beads of sweat down her back. But she stayed where she was. She waited.

Oddly, her thoughts flickered briefly to a reoccurring dream she often had. All the people she knew - - trainers she stole pokemon from, Team Rocket recruits she had trained, Giovanni, her mother, Jesse - - all came at her, shouting at the top of their lungs. The whole mass of them would form a knot around her, pressing against her like enclosing walls until she couldn't breath. She'd wake up, gasping and choking and seized with a sudden fright.

Now the people were replaced with fifteen Nidorinas, one of them armed with more than voices. The Nidorinas encircled Jaquie, drawing ever nearer with each step, but slowly it seemed. Seconds dripped by like molasses.

Then, all at once, they attacked.

Nidorina chose her weapon well; poison, thick and black which sprung towards Jaquie in all directions, like a polluted fountain. Instinctively, Jaquie hit the ground and rolled to her left. She plowed into three Nidorinas, but these were merely illusions and Jaquie rolled right through them, causing them to evaporate. Without pausing for breath, the remaining Nidorinas readjusted their course, and sent a renewed attack of poison flooding at Jaquie.

Jaquie looked up in time to see the sky turn into a sea of sickening black liquid.

She raised her gun above her head and fired. The ice froze poison.

Jaquie rolled back just as the frozen chunk of toxic crashed to the ground where she'd just been. It landed with a thud and lay on the ground like a rock.

Other poison streaming down on top of her. For a moment, it made everything around her turn pitch black. But the poison was just an illusion, like a hologram, which vanished the moment it touched her skin.

Disturbing as this was, it gave Jaquie some idea of which pokemon were the illusions. Before Nidorina could launch another attack Jaquie took a desperate, but educated guess and pulled back the trigger of her revolver. Nidorina yelped. Her foreleg had frozen. Struck with cold reality, the copies disappeared inside the original.

A passionate fury swept Nidorina. The odds had shifted. She was disabled, in addition to being worn. And the human still had an array of weapons to choose from. Nidorina paused. The male human had gotten cocky and almost lost everything. Nidorina was not so foolish. She'd retreat, if it came to that.

She was still considering, when the earth around her exploded.

. . .

Nidorino was not a ground pokemon. Ground pokemon could bury themselves deep underground and feel the faintest jarring from above, telling them exactly where to resurface. Nidorino had no such talent, and as a result, he had to listen hard for clues as to know where to come up.

Fortunately, Jaquie had kept Nidorina fairly busy. He heard the clamoring of feet and followed the signal until he was sure he was just above Nidorina. He burrowed above, until he emerged into daylight, right under her feet.

Nidorina was taken by surprise, to say the least. She let out a shriek that sent a shiver through Nidorino and fell. She landed hard in the tunnel and for a moment lay still.

Jaquie threw a pokeball at her. But the stubborn pokemon hit it away with her tail.

Jaquie sighed. "Fine. Have it your way. Nidorino attack."

Nidorino leapt at her. Nidorina fought fiercely and desperately, but she had no real hope. Nidorino knew his environment. Pushing off from the walls, he plowed into her. She bit and pushed; he retreated in the darkness. While she tried to regather herself, he attacked her again in a cloud of dust.

Nidorina didn't even try to attack now. Enduring his assault, she scrambled frantically out of the hole. Nidorino bound after her in one leap.

"Thunder wave," ordered Jaquie.

Nidorino obeyed. The female poison pokemon, stricken with volts of electricity, lay helpless.

"Horn attack."

Nidorino plowed his horn into the soft right side his opponent. She was heaved left, skidding the dirt and sending dust and small pebbles flying.

"Body slam!" said Jaquie.

Nidorino punched his rival with the full weight of his body. She didn't even attempt to block. She was battered and bruised, prostrate in the dust, not making a sound.

Jaquie snatched another pokeball.

"Pokeball, go." Jaquie threw.

Jared's extra-strength pokeball glowed a bright red as it touched Nidorina. Nidorina struggled weakly against its force, but to no avail. The pokeball absorbed Nidorina into its contents. And just to insure that Nidorina could not escape, steel fingers extended over the pokeball, clamping it down.

Nidorina was gone. In her place was the single pokeball.

Jaquie picked it up. And with tired indifference added, "I win again."

. . .

_I am receiving a message_.

"From who?"

_It is from Danele_.

"What does she have to day?"

_She says she is near Lucine Clearing. There are signs of a battle. The clearing is scattered with frozen pokemon and there are seventeen crying baby Nidorans hiding nearby_.

"Are there humans?"

_Danele sees only one. And it appears she owns a Nidorino_.

"Only one? And she took out all the pokemon in the Lucine Clearing. That's troubling. We will have to work very hard before we wipe these blood-thirsty brutes off our land. But there is no time for that now; notify your colleagues to begin their work. I want all the injured pokemon teleported to the nearest hospital immediately."

_And then shall I send for an army to deal with these humans_?

"No. I have a better idea."


	15. Chapter 13: Reactions

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 13

**Reactions**

. . .

. . .

"You are an idiot! A complete and total idiot!"

Kris scowled. He'd borne Karen's ranting more or less patiently but not without a certain bitterness. He hated being insulted, by anyone, even when he knew they were right.

Especially when they were right.

Restlessly, he threw a rock. It landed with a snap inside the bushes near Jesse and James. They started up as they heard the sound. Kris hated that they were there, watching Karen belittle him.

It was just his bad luck that they'd caught up with Karen and Kris just as the yelling began. He'd never seen Karen this furious at him before. It wasn't as if Kris never screwed up and it wasn't as if Karen didn't get upset at him, but normally she had the courtesy to do so without making a public scene. Now Jesse and James were witnessing his humiliation and Kris could do nothing but sit there and wish they'd gotten eaten by a wild pokemon.

"You have absolutely no sense!" continued Karen, really getting going. "What were you thinking?! _Were_ you thinking?! You could have gotten us all killed!"

"Are you finished yet?" said Kris, gritting his teeth.

"No, I'm not!" screamed Karen, with less self-possession than she usually contained. "Kris, you are irresponsible, irresponsible and reckless, you never think what you do, you're always putting the rest of us in danger...!"

"It's not my fault that you can't handle some excitement," Kris muttered.

In reply, Karen swung around and punched him.

For a moment Kris just glared, eyes smoldering with fury. "You really don't want to get in a fight with me right now," he said darkly.

"Oh, I'm sure I do," retorted Karen. "As I remember it, I always beat you in fights." She hit him again.

Provoked and frustrated, Kris swung back.

"Come on guys don't fight," sighed James.

"Shut up!" Kris and Karen yelled at him in unison.

Kris was blinded with fury and rage. He was angry, angry at Jaquie for sending him away from his battle with the pokemon, angry at Karen for chastising him in front of Jesse and James, angry at himself for acting so stupid that he actually deserved Jaquie and Karen's punishment. And in his anger, he did not think; he just locked onto Karen and tried to overpower her.

Karen collapsed. Her lunatic violence suddenly died and she fell to the floor, drained and pale.

That stopped Kris in his tracks. Kris had never, ever won a physical fight with Karen. Karen as a child had diligently studied judo and tae kwon doe, and had practiced it constantly as she had grown older. Within a week of her arrival in Team Rocket she had beat up every male who dared challenge her, Kris included. The fact that he had now beat her shocked him into his normal sanity.

"You'd better stop fighting," muttered Jesse wearily. "Jaquie will kill you if you kill each other."

"You shut up, too," said Kris absently, not really caring about Jesse. He looked at Karen. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she managed in a shadow of her regular voice.

But Karen was not fine, that was obvious. Kris could have kicked himself for not seeing it sooner. Karen lay on the ground, gasping and shaking. He crouched down beside her.

"What happened?" he said, extending his hand to help her up.

Karen glared at him through her bangs, then took his hand and, with some effort, pulled herself up. She wobbled as she stood, taking a few steps backwards until she found a tree. Propping herself up against the branches, she took a few heavy breaths.

"It's nothing," she told him, forcing her voice to come out normally. "I think I was just overexcited by the battle. An adrenaline rush. I-I'm great now, just tired."

"You don't usually tire out so quickly," Kris pointed out. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong!" she burst out. "I told you I'm great! I don't need you fawning over me like I'm some sort of invalid, okay!?"

Kris crossed his arms. It did no good trying to help Karen. You think by now he'd have learned.

But he couldn't help but be worried. Whether she'd admit it or not, Karen was not well. Her outburst ceased as quickly as it came. Karen hung her head, closed her eyes, and took long, shallow breaths. She was pale to begin with, but Kris noticed now her complexion seemed more ashen than usual, an unnatural and sickly white.

Kris' arms tightened. He made up his mind. Karen could scream at him all she wanted, but he was going to find out what was wrong.

Just then, Jaquie arrived.

She walked unceremoniously into their resting place, carrying a backpack bulging with supplies. No pokemon followed her, but hooked to her belt were five pokeballs. Her whip was also connected to her belt, her right hand just touching it.

"Kris," she said softly. "May I have a word with you?"

Kris didn't notice the dangerous element in her voice. "Jaquie," he said tensely. "There's something wrong with-"

He never got to finish.

In a flash, Jaquie unloosed her whip and sent it slashing forward. It caught Kris across his left arm, leaving a bright red mark. He flinched, mostly out of surprise.

"You disobeyed me," Jaquie said coldly. "Several times."

Her whip flashed in the air again. Kris stumbled back and fell against the trunk of a tree, another crimson scar on him.

"You provoked the Nidorinos, after I told you we were just observing."

The whip cracked. Kris cringed, but he couldn't back up any further. The tree held him close in its tangle of branches.

"Then you nearly got yourself killed after I warned you not to tease the enemy."

Jaquie grew louder, filling their part of the forest, allowing everyone present to hear. With each sentence, her whip struck against his skin. Everyone was staring at him. Kris wanted to melt into the tree.

"You used the weapons when I had specifically forbidden it." Jaquie advanced closer to Kris, looming tall and menacing, like the shadow of a giant. "Finally, you refused to retreat when I gave you an order."

Crack. The whip tore into his arm again. Kris bit his cheek. Karen moved her eyes away from him, expression blank. But Jesse and James gaped, like this was some carnival side show. Kris' skin burned red, and not just with pain. He stared up at Jaquie with a mix of defiance and fury. Her eyes were cold.

"Your stupidity very nearly got us all killed."

Jaquie raised her whip and stuck down with all the force she possessed. Kris shut his eyes and cringed back against the solid wall of the tree trunk. The whip didn't touch him. Instead it smacked into the leaves around him, causing them to rustle with the ferocity of a wild animal.

Crack. Crack. The whip made two separate sounds as Jaquie pulled her whip back and struck again. Kris looked up and saw the branches on both sides of him shattered by the force of the blow, causing broken leaves and twigs to shower down.

_That would have hurt if she had actually hit me_, he thought. Then, _It didn't hit me and I flinched anyway_.

"Now," Jaquie said in the calm, teacherly voice she used on unruly students, "what do you have to say for yourself?"

Kris broke away from the tree, indignation flaring in his eyes. "You wouldn't let me do anything! It was boring just waiting there. I needed action." Somehow, his words came out childish. It made Kris hate Jaquie all the more.

"If I didn't let you do anything, it was because I had my reasons. I believe you've made those reasons obvious to everyone."

Jaquie folded her arms. She seemed to wait expectantly for Kris to say something to embarrass himself further. Kris shut his mouth, biting down hard on his tongue, and refused to talk. He was fairly vibrating with rage, but he was not about to give Jaquie the pleasure of making him look dumb again.

After a while, Jaquie wound up her whip and hooked it back to her belt. "I know we are all tired," she said softly. "So let's get back to headquarters now."

She walked the beaten path through the forest. Jesse and James were first to follow. Then came Karen, stumbling. Kris stood there, unwilling for a moment to obey. But as he found himself alone, he gave in and stormed after her.

Kris trudged, teeth clamped down, silent. His thoughts swirled in maddening clouds of red. He didn't mind the lecture, didn't mind the insults, didn't even care about the pain. What he couldn't stand was being put on the display like that. Mocked in front of Jesse and James and Karen. Humiliated. He clenched his fists into tight knots. He hated Jaquie. He hated her with every fiber of his being.

So he didn't bother telling her that they were being followed.

. . .

Jaquie, too, was angry.

She'd just picked up Nidorina's pokeball when the frozen Nidorinos and Nidorinas vanished into thin air, probably teleported the same as the Magmars and Machokes. It left Jaquie feeling uneasy, undecided, as though there was some other game the pokemon were playing that she didn't know about.

That irked her and remembering Kris' disobedience irked her further. She wasn't used to having her orders disregarded. Aside from being disrespectful, Kris had also put himself and the others in danger. He needed to be taught a lesson.

Kris was a hard one to punish. Lectures did absolutely no good. Restrictions might work if he ever decided to obey them. Even pain was trivial for Kris, who tolerated it better than most. The only effective way Jaquie knew of how to get any kind of message across to Kris was by public humiliation. She was pretty sure that this event would stick out in Kris' mind before he ran out to do anything rash again.

The group was strangely quiet as it trailed through the forest. Kris, of course was simmering. Karen was lagging along, looking tired. Even Jesse and James must have sensed that no one really wanted to chat. As for Jaquie, she was lost deep in her thoughts. The group proceeded along in this fashion for about fifteen minutes before Karen suddenly fainted.

All this time, she'd been walking as if in a daze, without direction, stumbling, struggling with each step. Time seemed to hold no meaning, as though she'd wandered into an abyss where each minute was equal to eternity.

At this point, Karen began to notice that she could no longer see the outline of the leaves; they became instead fuzzy blurs of green. Then noticed that she couldn't see the outline of the forest, either. Everything swirled into a cloud of green and brown, with purple specks that kept blinking in and out of view.

_Then_ Karen noticed that she didn't particularly care what she saw. A wave of nausea swept over her, and she was too busy breaking out in a cold sweat, too busy gasping for air, too busy trying to muster up whatever energy she had to take one more step forward, to put one foot in front of the other, as though with every movement she was pulling herself out of a bog of quicksand. The blinking purple spots were spreading across the forest, effacing the browns and greens, and for a moment they were just so dazzling that Karen had to stare. The spots consumed the entire landscape in purple, then deepening into an endless black...

When Karen regained consciousness, she found that she was lying in the dirt, with dead leaves strewn under her her hair. The faces of the other four circled around, staring.

Kris was furious again, but no longer with Jaquie. "Don't even try to tell me there's nothing wrong with you!"

"I'm...fine," Karen mumbled.

She tried to get up, but her arms wobbled badly and soon she slipped back to the forest floor. Kris quickly knelt beside her, cushioning her head before it hit the floor.

"Okay," Karen finally admitted. "I'm not fine."

"What's the problem?" asked Kris. He felt her forehead. It was so drenched in sweat her bangs stuck to her skin, but she felt cold and she was shaky. Kris withdrew his hand. "Are you sick?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. I feel sick, but... wasn't sick this morning... I can't think." She shut her eyes. "...Don't know what's wrong..."

"Dodrio," Jaquie ordered, dropping a pokeball.

"Do you think she can ride?" asked Kris.

"I don't know," said Jaquie. "Trying sitting her up, for now."

Kris gripped both Karen's arms in his hands and tried to pull her up. He was pretty gentle, but as soon as he touched her left arm, Karen's eyes ripped open. She cried out and jerked her arm out of Kris' grasp.

"What's wrong with your arm, Karen?" Kris asked.

Karen said nothing.

Kris took out a pocket knife and flicked opened the blade. Karen watched him for a moment with a bit of suspicious wonder but didn't move when Kris put the knife right up to her shoulder. He cut away the left sleeve of Karen's poison suit. Karen shivered as she felt the cloth being pulled away and broke out in a clammy sweat all over again.

Kris stared. On her arm were three light puncture marks. A purple rash formed around them.

"Poison,"Jaquie diagnosed, looking grave.

"Oh no," Kris groaned.

"Dodrio won't be fast enough," Jaquie said, calling her flying pokemon back. "Karen is your Mr. Mime still in good condition?"

"Think so," Karen muttered.

"Can you get it out?"

Karen didn't answer, so Kris unlatched the pokeball from her belt and tossed it to the floor.

A few minutes later Jared's pleasant lunch was interrupted by the appearance of five worn-looking Team Rocket members on the brink of panic.

"What's going on?" he asked, putting down his sandwich. Then he saw Karen-sickly, shaking Karen with streaks of purple climbing up her left arm-and turned a few shades paler himself. "Please don't tell me she's poisoned, too."

"Well, she is," said Kris darkly. He threw Jared a look that communicated in not so many words that he was likely to hurt Jared if he didn't get the right answer to his next question. "Have you found an antidote yet?"

Jared let out a sigh. "No."

It was the wrong answer. Kris exploded, but fortunately, Jaquie saw it coming and managed to put herself between the two boys before Kris could do any damage.

"You haven't found a cure yet?! What kind of a scientist are you! What did you do, sit around all day, you lazy idiot!"

"Kris," warned Jaquie.

"Or are you trying to ruin our mission? Is that it? You don't want to find a cure so that we all die of poisoning, is that it, you miserable traitor!"

"Don't call me that!" Jared snapped back. "Just what do you think I am, some sort of super brain? You gave me one morning to find a cure. Not even a full day! This isn't even my area of specialty. You expect me to master the whole field in one day, _and_ find a cure to a strange and alien poison and do it all before lunchtime. Just what do you think I am?"

This outburst from polite, logical Jared was enough to shock Jaquie into silence. Kris, however, was not subdued.

"You're the scientist, that's who you are!" Kris screamed back. "Why do you think we dragged you along, so you could study the plant life? Do your job, science boy. Find a cure, because I swear that if she gets any worse, you'll definitely feel it too!"

"Kris!" Jaquie interrupted again.

"Great! Threaten me!" retorted Jared. "That will get so much accomplished! It isn't bad enough that I'm in the middle of a island filled with deadly pokemon, it isn't bad enough you call me a traitor, it isn't bad enough you dump me here to look for some impossible cure while you go and get yourselves poisoned, but now you threaten me, too!"

"Jared!" said Jaquie.

"Would both of you just shut up!" rasped Karen.

All eyes focused on her and the room turned strangely quiet, except for Karen's ragged breathing. The poison was spreading across her arm. Jared took one of the potions from the shelf and administered it to her. Karen remained conscious, but barely.

"This argument is getting us nowhere," interceded Jaquie, while everyone had ceased fighting. She turned to the scientist of the group. "Jared, do you have anything, any information that might help us with a solution?"

Jared pushed his glasses pushed his glasses down and wearily rubbed his eyes. "Jaquie, I've told you over and over again that I didn't really know anything about poison when I signed on..."

"So, in other words, you're useless to us now," Kris said, cracking his knuckles.

Jared glared at him. "But," he continued on, "while you were all away this morning, I did have time to page through my medical texts. One such book said something about rearranging the poison molecules to create an antidote."

"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place!" Kris said.

"I wasn't finished," said Jared. "The problem is that, A., I don't have the machinery to change the poison and, B., I don't have the poison itself. The machinery I might be able to manage if I rearrange the pokemon healing machine, but I still need a sample."

"Of poison?" Jaquie asked.

Jared nodded. "From one of the pokemon on this island. Preferably the one that poisoned her."

Jaquie reached for a pokeball. "And how would one obtain a sample?"

Jared shrugged. "Well, we have some test tubes to collect the poison in. Just have the pokemon do toxic or something. But the problem is first finding the pokemon and then making sure it doesn't poison you..."

"Jesse, may I borrow your rubber suit?" Jesse unzipped the suit she had put on over her clothes, and Jaquie collected some test tubes from one of the boxes. "I'll be back in a minute," she said, snatching the suit and unlatching her pokeball as she headed out the door.

"Obviously, Jaquie captured Nidorina," Kris said, in reply to Jared's puzzled stare. "No surprise there; Jaquie captures what she wants."

"But even if she gets the poison, I can't guarantee anything," Jared said, fidgeting and eying Kris nervously. "I'm not sure if I'm capable of making a machine to synthesize an antidote and even if I can, this poison thing is just a theory. I haven't tested it yet; it might not work right. And even then..."

"I get it, stuff can still go wrong," said Kris.

"I'm just explaining," said Jared, "so that if anything does go wrong-I mean, I'll do my best, but if it doesn't work-look, I don't want you to kill me if I'm not able to cure her, all right?"

Kris rolled his eyes. "I don't expect you to be perfect. I just want you to do something. Anything. I can't stand this waiting. I don't like her sick like this."

He looked at Karen. She was shivering and flickering in and out of consciousness. Kris shook his head.

"You know, she'd probably be mad if she just heard me just now. She'd say something sarcastic about me acting like I'm her mother or something. She'd start ranting and raving like she always does." He sighed. "It bothers me that she's too sick to do that."

"And with that in mind," said Jaquie, coming back inside, "let's get to work." She handed Jared the test tube filled with poison.

Jared took a deep breath, trying to shake off his self-doubt. "Okay, let's get started."

. . .

Jared worked on the machine for the rest of the day. It was a complicated piece, but while poison was not Jared's specialty, machinery was. He worked out the adjustments in about an hour and a half and began the reconstruction. For that, he enlisted Kris' help, the only other one there who knew anything about machines. The others tended to Karen and did what they could, which was mostly to look over his shoulder the rest of the day.

It wasn't exactly fun. Jared ran into several errors and was forced to take long pauses to figure out what was wrong. Kris, who could handle machinery, but who was hopeless at applying it to scientific theory, paced back and forth. Jesse and James constantly hovered over him, asking him what he was doing. Jared tried to answer their questions, distracting as they were, but he was unabashedly grateful when Kris at last told them to shut up. Jaquie, for her part, was easiest to forget. She kept quiet, reading through some of his texts, occasionally interrupting to point out a possible solution to a particular problem. Strangely enough, she was usually right.

Evening settled on the house. Jared got stuck on a tenacious problem, and Kris gave up and said he was going to bed. Jesse and James soon followed, and Jaquie gradually went into her room as well, leaving the door open. Jared was left alone, still struggling with the last, technical details of the machine. The clank of metal and Jared's mutterings could be heard like a whisper throughout the house.

The night deepened into black.

. . .

Jaquie had thought about reviewing Jesse and James' video tape, but the idea exhausted her. She thought about training Nidorina, but it was too late for that now. She'd even considered writing a report to Giovanni before she shook herself and realized that if her plan went accordingly she wouldn't be reporting to Giovanni ever again. At last Jaquie took out her stationary and her favorite blue pen; she would write a letter to her mother.

After all these years of being in Team Rocket, Jaquie still wrote. She wasn't even sure if her mom read her letters; Jaquie and her mother had not been on very good terms since her mother discovered Jaquie's involvement in Team Rocket. Still, it made her feel at least somewhat as though she was still the good, obedient daughter her mother had brought up.

Jaquie stared at the creamy sheet of paper for some time before she hesitantly pressed the pen against the paper.

_Dear Mom,_

The words always came out forced. Jaquie was never a gifted writer, and it hindered that most of what came out was fiction.

_I am still well. I'm still working on my pokemon training. My excursion has proved hectic, but rewarding. How are you?_

She overgeneralized everything. And somehow she managed to mix the stiffness of a college professor with the dumb simplicity of a first grader. It made her want to tear the paper up, but she continued.

_Jesse is here with me now. She just showed up out of thin air. But don't worry; I have been taking care of her._

Jaquie stopped and stared at her paper for the longest time. It was a lie she was writing. How could she lie to her mom?

_In a way, I'm living less like a member of Team Rocket and more like an honest pokemon trainer, here on this island. You might almost be proud of me if you saw me right now._ The words were coming quicker, and Jaquie wrote as if possessed. _I don't think you could ever be truly proud of me, because anytime you think of me you would think of Team Rocket. But, here on this island, maybe you could forget that I'm a member of this mafia. I don't expect that you could forget completely, because I'm so embedded that we have become impossible to separate, me and this shame, but maybe you could forget for a little while, for a few moments, and remember that I was once your daughter, a daughter you could be proud of, a daughter you could love, and maybe-_

Jaquie stopped. She was suddenly and vividly aware of someone breathing over her shoulder, reading every word. Instinctively, she covered the paper with her hand and spun around.

"I finished with the machine," Jared said, apologetically.

"Don't you ever, EVER read my letters again," Jaquie told him, in a voice thick with wrath and panic.

"I didn't read much," said Jared.

"Don't do it again," she snapped.

He nodded, but didn't.

"Well," she said after a while.

"Sorry," he said meekly.

"Why are you still standing here?" she demanded.

Part of her wanted to run away. But that was something children did, and Jaquie had grown up long ago. She stood to her full height, imposing and stern.

"I'm sorry you think your mom hates you," he said with genuine sympathy.

Jaquie jolted. She felt the paper under her hand and began to slowly crumple it, squeezing it tighter and tighter into a tiny ball inside her fist.

"I mean I have family too, and it sucks being away from them all the time, so I can see your position-"

"No, you can't." Jaquie's voice had gone cold. "You have no right snooping in my personal life. My family is none of your business. You will tell no one what you read."

"I didn't mean anything by it. Just that-"

"What are you still doing here?" Jaquie repeated.

"I haven't had anyone to talk to all day, okay? Except to be yelled at. It isn't exactly my ideal to be here any more than it is yours. I wanted to be an inventor. Instead, I'm the group's scapegoat." Jared sighed. "I'm annoying you, aren't I?"

"Yes," she said briefly.

"Fine, I'll leave," he said. "I just wanted to let you know that the machine is ready, and the antidote being formed as we speak. It should be ready by tomorrow." He started to walk out of the room. "Good night."

"Why are you here?" she asked impulsively.

He was halfway out the door, but he turned back towards her to answer. "I told you, I finished the antidote..."

"No, I mean why are you in Team Rocket. You don't fit in. You're too normal. You're too decent. This is a place of hardened criminals, and you don't belong."

Jared gave her a strangled sort of look. "Even Team Rocket doesn't want me," he said, trying weakly to make a joke of it.

"It's a compliment," she said tartly.

"Really? I don't consider it one. Not when the normal, decent world's already rejected me. Now Team Rocket tells me I'm not good enough. Where do I fit in?"

"Why would the normal world reject you?"

Jared looked her in the eye. "Do you think I'm a traitor?"

"No." Jaquie knew what traitors were like-she was one herself-and Jared did not fit the profile.

"Well, you're the first," said Jared. "And I joined Team Rocket because my younger brother encouraged me to."

"What?" He had a younger brother. "Why?"

"Oliver-my brother-he knew that all my life I've wanted to be a scientist. I've always loved tinkering with things. But the other labs wouldn't accept me. Not the universities, either. So Oliver told me why waste my life flipping burgers or washing cars? Why not join Team Rocket and do what I love?"

"Why wouldn't they accept you?" wondered Jaquie.

Jared squirmed, as if things were becoming a little too personal for him, making him uncomfortable. "It's kind of a long story," he muttered. "And not very interesting..."

"You read my letter," Jaquie pointed out.

Jared took a breath. "I, well, my dad was in Team Rocket."

"And...?"

"And he was in Silph Co."

"And...?"

"And... And what is there to tell? He was part of the Team Rocket conspiracy to take over the company. He was actually one of the lead scientists in charge of the whole operation."

Jaquie remembered the Silph Co. project. She helped to organize it. And she helped to sabotage it.

"So, after it failed, my family was basically blacklisted. Socially ostracized and all that. I mean, I got good grades in school and everything, but when one company runs the entire town, not to mention most of the pokemon world, and what can you expect? Colleges wouldn't accept me. They never said why, it was just a nice little rejection letter in the mail, no explanation."

"But you weren't even involved," Jaquie said.

"Yeah, I know." Jared shrugged. "Actually, I probably would have been labeled the poor victimized son of the town criminal had if I just kept my mouth shut." He made a lopsided grin. "But no, I just had to go and mouth off to the reporters that if Silph Co. had just paid my father what he was worth, he wouldn't have gotten involved in the first place. I said I'd have turned to Team Rocket myself if the teachers gave me bad grades when I deserved As."

He gave a good-humored chuckle. "I think the reporters missed the parallel. At any rate, I was promptly labeled a traitor like my father or a traitor in the making and that was the end of it. Goodbye any faint traces of whatever life I had to begin with."

"You're not bitter about any of this?" Jaquie said. A brief pause. "I would be."

"I try not too think about it much," Jared said, looking uncomfortable again. "I'm plenty bitter, actually, but what am I supposed to do about it? What do you do when your life's a wreck? You can't really do anything."

"I know what you mean." She was thinking over her own life.

"So, why are you here?" Jared asked casually.

"What?" Jaquie said, somewhat distracted.

"I told you how I came here, so why is everyone else here? Just to be a criminal or-?"

"I'm here for the money," Jaquie said tersely. "As it turns out, crime does pay, if you do the job well enough. Karen, Kris, and James all came to escape from family. Jesse came to... to be with family." The thought of Jesse awakened a painful knot inside her and reminded her of something else he'd said. "You mentioned you had a younger sibling, a brother..."

"Oliver."

"Does he look up to you?"

"I think so. I try to be a good role model and Mom says he looks up to me-why?"

"Get out of Team Rocket," Jaquie whispered.

"What?"

"There may be a... a sudden change in Team Rocket," Jaquie said, knowing that she was giving away too much information. "If, for any reason, this change doesn't work out, get out of Team Rocket as quickly as you can."

"I don't understand what you mean," Jared said confused.

Jaquie didn't like giving away personal information, especially not about her deepest regrets. But if there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was repeating mistakes. And she wasn't about to let Jared repeat her biggest one.

"Jesse is my younger sister," Jaquie said quietly.

She was being redundant, of course, but it was the best she could do. And Jared seemed to understand. He glanced at the crumpled paper in her hand.

"You don't get along well with your family."

"No." Jaquie let the paper slip from her fingers.

. . .

The next morning Jaquie awoke to chaos. She emerged from her room, bleary-eyed and trying to stifle her yawns. Her watch read quarter to four.

Everyone else was already awake. Karen was trying to demand why she'd been waken at this God forsaken hour, but she was still too weak to make much of a dent against the wall of noise. Kris roared that he never got up before sunrise and someone better have a good explanation. Jared was mostly just stood in the center of the room, blinking heavily, still in a half-asleep daze.

Jesse and James created most of the hysteria. They were running around the main room, with their flashlights sending beams wildly to and fro. They were tearing the boxes apart, tossing items all over the place, stumbling over their own mess. And all the while, they were shouting over and over again,

"Meowth! Meowth is gone!"


	16. Chapter 14: The Discovery

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 14

**The Discovery**

**. . .**

**. . .**

Jaquie sipped her coffee. It was lukewarm. She hated lukewarm coffee, but she didn't have time to heat the water all the way up. She looked over the sleepy group. Kris was propping Karen against one of the crates, and Jared was hovering over his new machine. Jesse paced, and James wrung his hands. But they'd all settled down and stopped screaming, and that, she supposed, was an accomplishment in itself.

"Now," Jaquie said, "please explain what happened."

James recounted the tale.

He'd woken up quite suddenly from a nightmare about the wild pokemon destroying his companions before his very eyes. To reassure himself, he checked on everyone. When he came to Meowth's makeshift bed, he expected to find his friend curled up cozy in his blanket, snoozing peacefully. Instead James found nothing but a blanket crumpled on the floor.

Then he woke up Jesse.

Jesse added more details on the search. How they'd poked around the bed, thinking he'd rolled away. How they'd gotten the flashlights and woke up Jared. How they began to panic, screaming as they threw open crates and dashed from room to room.

"In the end, it didn't matter. Meowth wasn't anywhere we searched," James concluded miserably. "What are we going to do? Meowth's missing."

He put his head in his hands and looked quite forlorn.

"So," Jaquie said, "what could have happened? Any ideas?"

"Isn't it obvious," Jesse scoffed. "Unless Meowth decided to take a midnight stroll-"

"He couldn't," Jared interrupted. "The poison returns whenever the pokemon-or person-becomes conscious." He looked at Karen, who shivered, abstracted and pale. "Meowth would be too weak to go far."

"Then it's pretty clear Meowth has been catnapped," concluded Jesse. She cast an evil eye at Kris.

"Like I would want your dumb cat," he said.

"The most likely culprit would be the wild pokemon," Jared said.

The machine beeped, and he leapt to his feet.

"The antidote's ready."

He took out a small case. The poison had mutated into a thinner liquid but kept its purple hue. Karen's face turned the same shade.

"I have to drink that?"

Jared hesitated. "Actually, I don't think drinking it would work. It needs to be injected directly into the bloodstream...probably close to the wound as well."

Karen stared. Her right hand hovered just over the puncture marks on her left arm.

"I have some needles and syringes in the first aid kit," Jared continued. "Does anyone know how to use them?"

"Karen does," Kris said ironically.

"Does anyone not suffering from a debilitating poison know how to use them?" Jared clarified. No one answered. "Come on, don't tell me I'm the only one who had to take first aid in high school?"

"Jared, you're the only one of us who has ever _been_ to high school," Jaquie pointed out.

"Fine, I'll do it then." Jared filled up the syringe. He hesitated again. "Kris, do you think you could restrain her, if she starts to shriek and yell and stuff, because I can't give the injection if she moves..."

Kris stared at Jared as though he'd just lost his mind.

"And why," Karen said, propping herself up so as to give Jared her best dignified glare, "would I shriek and yell and move around?"

"I just mean it might hurt..."

"I've had shots before," said Karen icily. "I don't shriek."

"Fine," Jared said, giving up. "But if you move and I mess up, don't blame me."

Karen's eyes glinted with determination. Jared was actually the one shaking. Karen flinched slightly as the needle pressed under her skin, but other than that, she was still. Everyone sort of watched, as though observing a historic, defining moment, but nothing happened.

Finally James burst in, "What about Meowth? He's still missing, you know. He was poisoned, too. How are we going to find him?"

"How did the pokemon get him?" wondered Jared. Having emptied half the vial of antidote into Karen's bloodstream, he now shakily resumed his seat. "I think I would have heard something if the pokemon entered our room. But there was absolutely no noise."

Karen coughed.

"I thought I saw something last night." She coughed again, a flushed color beginning to creep back into her complexion. "It was dark, pitch-black, but I opened my eyes because I thought I heard breathing. Then, there was a flash, like a dim light going off and. No wait, it wasn't a light I saw. It was more like a-a disturbance in the air. Like when a pokemon teleports."

Everyone began talking at once, very loudly. Except for Jaquie.

Jaquie quietly took in the information. A plan was always necessary when the world spun out of control. The pokemon knew where they were and they could teleport in. Yet it almost seemed as though they were toying with them, kidnapping one pokemon and leaving without so much as a scratch. She couldn't understand why and she didn't like that she couldn't understand.

At the same time she was mad at herself. She should have foreseen this. She should have known that the pokemon would retaliate in some way and prepared. But instead she had spent the entire night acting like a sentimental fool. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Kris was speaking. "These pokemon have snuck into our base in the middle of the night. Which means they can do it again. We need to do something about it."

Jaquie spoke almost as soon as he had finished. "We'll start by putting up defenses around our headquarters. Today."

"How?" Jared asked. "Not to be rude, but it's pretty impossible to stop psychic pokemon. Modern science hasn't been able to find any tangible solution. Yet," he added.

"We could use mirrors," suggested Jesse. "Those sometimes reflect the attacks back at them. The only problem is that electricity destroys them."

"Plus the fact that we don't have any mirrors," said Jaquie tartly. Jesse looked a bit crestfallen.

"Well, there's the old-fashioned solution of just keeping guard," Kris said. "Okay, so we can't stop the pokemon from getting in. But we can make sure we ready if they do. We can post guards, set up an alarm system..."

"Good idea," Jaquie said. "But it won't help us if there's whole army after us."

"So then we'll set traps for them," said Jesse. "We can dig holes and rig nets. They can't do anything if they fall down a hole. One time when James and I were trying to catch Pikachu, we dug a hole for the twerp, but then we fell in ourselves-"

Kris snickered.

"It wasn't funny," Jesse shrilled back at him. "Anyway, my point is that they can't do anything to catch us if they're in a hole."

"Unless they're ground pokemon," Jaquie commented.

"We can do other things besides holes," said Jesse. "We already started some traps, but we didn't have time to finish most of them."

"Could you teach Kris how to set them up?" Jaquie asked.

"_They_!-teach _me_!" Kris was outraged at the idea.

"They're the experts at this," said Jaquie with a shrug.

"That's not the point, If you think for one moment, I'm going to let _them_ order _me_ around-"

"That is the point," said Jaquie calmly.

"Jaquie they couldn't even capture one little worthless Pikachu-"

"I know that Kris," said Jaquie, as if Jesse wasn't sitting right there in the room next to her. "But whether or not they can capture pokemon is besides the point. They know more than you do about this..."

"But..."

"...so therefore, you _will_ take orders from them."

Kris opened his mouth in protest. Jaquie gave him a pointed look, and he shut it.

"All right, so here's the plan," resumed Jaquie. "Jesse and James, you instruct Kris on how to build these traps. Jared, tell them if you have anything new to add. I will begin-"

"What are you crazy?" To everyone's shock, it was James who interrupted. "Our pokemon is missing! Didn't any of you hear that? We have to set up a search party and find him!"

"Good riddance, I say," Kris said. "Meowth was useless anyway."

"Meowth is our friend," said Jesse, coming to James' aid. "We can't just abandon him. If they'd stolen Karen instead, you wouldn't be talking about defenses."

"Okay," said Jaquie loudly, seeing Kris tense up. "That's enough. James, if you had let me finish, I was about to add that I would begin packing for our expedition. After, say, two hours of instructing Kris, the three of us will begin searching the island for Meowth. Kris will remain here to set up traps, Karen will stay because she's too ill to move, and Jared, you can help Kris and take care Karen. Is everyone all right with the plan?"

There was a harmony of grudging "yes"s, except for Karen who mumbled under her breath, "I don't need to be taken care of."

. . .

The sky transformed from a misty gray into a pale dawn. Jaquie was on her third cup of coffee. She'd packed the rubber poison-proof suits and picked out several choice weapons. She added various antidotes and potions. Rope, a compass, a first aid kit. She made lunch for Jesse and James. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Then she consulted Jared.

"Can you repair this?" Jaquie asked, showing him a small device. "Water leaked into the crate it was in and now it doesn't work."

Jared looked at it. "Give me a half hour," he said.

Jaquie was surprised, "Only a half hour?"

"The prototype of that particular invention was given to me assemble. So were the next thirteen drafts. I could repair it in my sleep."

Jared was as good as his word. Jaquie packed the tracking device in her backpack.

"You know, I could fix other things, too," Jared volunteered. "Like the communication equipment."

"No, that's all right," Jaquie said. "I'd rather you help Kris."

At approximately 6:30 AM, Jaquie, Jesse, and James departed. They were a conspicuous bunch, three humans walking in a close knot wearing black vinyl backpacks. James was carrying his video recorder again. As for Jaquie, she watched the woods warily, looking through the sun-illuminated trees with one hand hovering above her pokeballs and the other over her gun.

. . .

When Jared had been selected for the project, he'd agreed to take care of any medical emergencies that might arise. At the time, he'd assumed this meant healing injured pokemon-basically, setting up and running the medical equipment. He hadn't anticipated playing nurse to Karen-a very grumpy and uncooperative Karen, at that.

It wasn't that Karen whined or complained very much. Mostly she kept to herself, dozing or sketching lightly or sometimes reading a book. Jared caught a glimpse of it, before Karen whisked it away under her pillow. _Wuthering Heights_.

"What do you want?" Karen glared at him from her sleeping bag on the floor.

"I brought you some water," Jared said, almost apologetically.

Karen, rather ungratefully, snatched the cup from him, spilling some drops to the floor. Jared studied her for a minute. The poison was leaving her system, but very, very slowly. She was obviously better if she could snap at him, but she still seemed weak and pale and feverish.

Karen noticed that Jared was staring at her. "What?" she demanded.

"I was just checking to see if the antidote was having any effect," Jared explained.

Karen's scowl deepened. "You're just like Terrance. It was always, 'Make sure little sister's comfortable. Make sure she's healthy and safe. She can't do anything, so make sure everything is done for her.' " Karen's sarcasm was biting. "Well, thank you Jared, but I don't really need your help, so why don't you just leave me alone and go on with your plans to backstab other organizations."

Jared bit back his remarks and retreated. Karen was sick, after all. He could understand that she was feeling helpless and useless, which, considering Karen, was probably new to her. Still, she didn't have to take it out on him.

Kris, for his part, spent the day working on traps. He muttered under his breath about how Jaquie had no right to order him around and he seemed disgusted with having to follow Jesse and James' directions. But he worked outside and Jared only heard tidbits of his complaints from the window.

Jared, himself, had little to do. He created a trip wire alarm for the doorways, which Kris promptly set off when he came inside for water. After that, Jared spent much of the morning toying with the idea of making a weapon that could shoot out potions and antidotes. Jared was in the middle of taking apart an ice revolver to see if the adjustments could be made, when Kris came in.

"Whew, I'm beat," he said. "And starving. Is it time for lunch yet?"

It was. But before Kris ate anything, he went to check on Karen. He carelessly left the door wide open after him. Jared could hear their conversation and, after craning his neck out, watch them talk.

"How ya doing?" Kris asked Karen.

"Go away," Karen said.

"You're feeling better then," Kris observed cheerfully.

"Not really." Karen coughed. "Kris, hand me my water there."

Kris picked up the glass and, instead of handing it to her, deliberately placed it a few inches away from her reach.

"You know," he said, as she stretched out to get it, "just when I think you can't get any worse-just when I think you can't get any more moody, any more bossy, and any more unpleasant-you get sick and prove me wrong."

"Good." Karen grasped the water. "You really ought to have known I could get worse."

"Not to mention uglier."

"I ought to throw this water on you," said Karen.

"Whatever makes you feel better. Because the only thing worse than having you for a partner, is having you for a sick partner."

Jared concluded that they must be teasing. At least, he hoped they were.

It was like they were competing in some sort of verbal battle. Kris would strike out with one remark, Karen would retaliate with another. Insult after insult, a fight for dominance.

Except that it wasn't exactly that. They were too easy, too comfortable in their posture. It reminded Jared more of two karate fighters, dueling with each other for practice, then bowing to each other out of respect. When Kris finally won, when he finally caught her off guard with something she had no answer to, Karen made a small smile and splashed her water all over him.

A smile that promptly faded when she saw Jared.

Karen reacted as though she were looking at Medusa and promptly turned to stone. Jared turned away, but he could still feel Karen's eyes boring into him. Kris left the room. Jared hunched his shoulders in, but Kris just passed him by and made himself a sloppy tuna fish sandwich and a bowl of soup for Karen. This time, he shut the door behind him.

They were in their own little world, and Jared was not invited.

. . .

They battled through the thick, trail-less trees. Jesse and James yelled their lungs hoarse for Meowth. Jaquie followed, silent, eyes scanning the mountains for any threatening movement.

Suddenly, the forest opened. Ruins sat in a clearing of saplings and massive tree stumps. Empty and abandoned buildings of wood and stone mingled with statues of noble pokemon, delicately carved. The largest statue was a Venusaur that looked wise and somehow, sad. There was all this-but no Meowth.

They ate lunch in the ruins. The mountain was too rough to continue north, so they traveled east. More mountains-by this time James legs were wobbly and his arms ached from holding up the camera. But the forests were growing sparser. By the time Jesse had sat down on a rock and refused to move-and James had joined her-they could see the end of it down below.

"I want to see what's down there," said Jaquie.

"Then go see," Jesse replied, "but I'm not coming. I'm too tired." And James added that, much as he wanted to find Meowth, he just couldn't take another step.

Jaquie had hesitated. "Okay, you two stay here then," she said. "But don't move from this spot. And whatever you do, stick together. Oh, and take this."

Jaquie handed them a small rectangular device with a large red button in the middle of it.

"Jared fixed it this morning. It's a tracking device. If you get into trouble-and only if you get into trouble-push the button. It will alert me. Then I'll come get you."

Jaquie took out her Dodrio and hopped on its back; they sped off in a run, kicking up loose brown dirt behind them. Jesse and James watched her go.

What they hadn't seen was Jaquie stop, not twenty yards away and look back to where they were. She hesitated, bit her lip. Finally, she reached for a pokeball, muttering, "They can't look after themselves."

Her pokemon came out. "Nidorino, watch after my sister and James over there." She pointed to the place. "Protect them if they get in any trouble." Then she urged her Dodrio on forward, still holding herself with vague uneasiness.

Nidorino obeyed. He found Jesse and James soon enough by their voices and hid in the tree about two yards away from them. That way he'd be in a better, more camouflaged position to attack. As it happened, Nidorino was so silent and motionless in his hiding, Jesse and James didn't even know he was there at all.

At this exact moment, James was growing steadily more panicked. It wasn't being in the forest that bothered him so much. Nor did the sounds of twigs creaking and the sight of peering eyes flickering in and out of view scare James-much. The fact that the crimson sun was sinking into the ground at an alarmingly quick rate, cloaking the already-dark forest in layers of long, dark shadows...well, yes, that was unnerving. But none of these things would have concerned James half so much had Jaquie been with them.

"Where is she?" whispered James. (He dared not raise his voice any louder and disturb the eerie quiet that had settled on the forest).

"She should be back by now," Jesse agreed.

In the distance there was a muffled vociferous cry. Jesse and James couldn't tell if it was pokemon-or human.

"What if something happened to her?" whimpered James. He was a coward, he knew it. But he couldn't help it. He knew better than anyone how it felt to be trounced on and beaten up with no means to defend yourself. He should have been used to it by now; but somehow his fear of pain had only gotten worse.

"Something happen to Jaquie? Ha!" But Jesse's statement was bland and her voice uncertain. "Like what?"

"Maybe this forest is haunted," breathed James. "Maybe Jaquie came across a horde of Haunters. They surround her, creeping hidden in the forest. And then they attack."

James could see his story in his mind: the purple ghouls slinking among the shadows, then forming into one massive, impossible villain. He could see Jaquie turn to look at them, fear and horror shining on her face.

"She tries to fight them, but she can't defeat the ghosts. They leave her lying in the forest, like a crumpled corpse... then they come for us..."

Silence followed. James felt a shiver creep up his spine, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

"You're wrong," Jesse said suddenly, standing up. "Jaquie's defeated ghost pokemon before. She could beat them, or at least run away."

"What if it's not ghosts," said James. "What if it's something worse?"

Jesse shuddered but shook her head. "No, Jaquie could defeat anything. She's the best, you know that. More likely she just abandoned us."

She said the last statement with such simplicity, as though she were stating a fact, that James was taken aback. "But she wouldn't do that, would she?"

"She might," said Jesse bitterly. "For all we know this might be some plan she and Karen and Kris cooked up all along."

"But she's your sister!" James himself was an only child, but it didn't seem right that siblings would abandon one another. "Besides," he added reasonably, "she came through for us during that storm, right before the wave almost hit us."

"Yeah, but barely. And what if she decides we just aren't worth the bother? What if we push this red button here and she never comes? What if she doesn't care?"

"She's your sister," James repeated.

"So! She hates us! She hates me!" Suddenly Jesse's anger crumbled. She sat back down on the rock and began to cry, shoulders slumped, eyes teary. "She hates everything I do! She thinks I'm worthless!"

"Don't cry," said James. He put his arm around her shoulders and tried to comfort her, but she continued to sob. "It's not just her," he said. "Everyone thinks we're worthless."

"But she's not supposed to! She's supposed to be...like she used to be, before I joined Team Rocket. She's supposed to be nice. But I can never do anything right and she always looks down on me, like she's disappointed. She never once told me I did anything right. And I tried and tried my hardest. But that's never enough! I've failed and she hates me!"

This was too much for James. He felt his eyes start to water. James was all too familiar with trying and failing; he was all too familiar with being despised; he was afraid, stressed, and he missed Meowth. He began to cry with her.

Jesse and James didn't see Jaquie as she came back. They didn't see her ride up, recalling Nidorino as she came nearby. The last of the setting sun disappeared and the forest was bathed in darkness.

"Come on, we're going home," said Jaquie, her voice suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

"Jaquie!" Jesse and James cried out in joy. The joy soon leaked out of their voices when they realized they could see nothing. "Where are you?"

There was a flash of light. Jesse and James blinked. Jaquie had traded her Dodrio for her Slowbro. It was from Slowbro that the light was emitted.

Jaquie saw immediately that they had been crying; their eyes were swollen and the tears were still wet on their cheeks. For a moment, emotion flickered in her eyes. But it passed and Jaquie sighed, weariness overtaking her.

"Let's go," she said simply.

"What took you so long?" Jesse demanded. "We were worried sick."

"I found something," Jaquie replied. "Now let's leave."

"What did you find? What was so interesting that you had to leave us here in the forest for hours and hours?"

Jaquie paused. "All right, I'll show you. Then we're going. Slowbro teleport."

Slowbro uttered a low "sloooooow" then whisked them away.

They could see it by the light that radiated from Slowbro. James gaped. So did Jesse.

Before them, fortified deep into the surrounding mountains was a city. Not like the ancient ruins they found earlier, this was a real, true, modern city. It sparkled with artificial lights, radiating dully the colors of the skyscrapers: green, blue, purple, orange, silver. But instead of humans, pokemon roamed the streets. James could see their blurred forms as they strolled to and fro.

Blurred because surrounding the city was an impossibly tall, impossibly vast, thick, glass-like barrier.

"Now let's go home," said Jaquie.

. . .

END OF PART I


	17. Chapter 15: Pokemon of Mountaintop City

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 15

**The Pokemon of Mountaintop City**

. . .

. . .

Through the haze, there came voices.

"Kaaan, kang, kang?" _Are you sure this is the one?_

"Niii. Niiiiia, niiii, niiiiaaa." _I'd know him anywhere. He almost tried to attack me, and I had to poison him._

"Kang, Kangaskhan, Kang?" _And you are certain that he spoke human language?_

"Niiii, Niiiiia, ni, ni niiiiiaaa." _I don't know what human language sounds like. _"Niiiia, niiia, ni; ni, ni, niiiia, niiia." _All I know is that he didn't speak like a normal pokemon; it sounded like gibberish to me._

"Chancey, Chancey, Chaaancey." _I don't mean to interrupt, but he's beginning to wake up._

"Khan Kangaskan; Kangaskhan Kang. Khan, Kang..." _Give him another sleeping draught; don't let him wake until the antidote takes affect. Now, about these humans..._

Meowth felt something cold at his fur. There was a prick, and then the haze thickened around him and the voices drifted away.

. . .

Jared looked up from his papers. Jaquie, Jesse, and James materialized into the headquarter via Jaquie's Slowbro. Jared glanced through the window at the now darkened sky, checked his watch again. It was quarter to nine.

"So," he said, "what kept you?"

"There are two more pokemon cities on this island," Jaquie said. "Two more that we found."

Jared nodded solemnly. "There's stew over there by the portable stove," he motioned.

Jesse and James went over to get their dinner, walking like zombies. Jaquie put her pokeballs into the pokemon healing machine.

"No Meowth?" Jared inferred, noting their lack of energy.

"There's not a sign of him!" James said. "We searched and searched. Once we even found some Meowths. But not ours." He sighed despondently.

"If you want to know what I think, I think he's in one of those cities," added Jesse, eying Jaquie darkly.

Jaquie sighed. "Why don't you get some rest, Jesse? We'll be getting up early tomorrow."

"You can't keep blowing me off, Jaquie!" Jesse said angrily. "This time I'm right and you know it! They stole Meowth, and they aren't going to put him out where we can find him any time soon."

"Yes..." said Jaquie, drawing out the word with tested patience, like a mother who has heard the same argument from her child all day long and is growing weary of it.

Jesse glared at Jaquie with tired red eyes. "Fine. I'll go get some rest. But you can't keep blowing me off!" She flounced to her room, leaving a trail of stew drippings as she went.

"Jesse?" James gathered his bowl of stew and left as well, following Jesse like a meek little puppy.

Jaquie let out her breath in a violent cloud. She snatched her pokeballs from the beeping machine, latched them to her belt, and stalked over to the portable stove, whisking a bowl and spoon as she went.

"So..." said Jared, watching her mechanically dip the ladle into the stew and mechanically dump its context into her bowl. "Rough day?"

"You could say that." Jaquie sat down to eat.

"Jesse's idea-well, it makes sense," said Jared, the foolish words prying his mouth once again wide open.

"Of course it makes sense!" Jaquie snapped. "You think I don't know that this wild goose chase is a stupid waste of time?"

She quickly sat down and put her hand to her head, pressing her bangs hard against her forehead.

"Well, if you think-" Jared began.

"What am I supposed to do, then? Storm the cities? Take them by force? Hold out a siege? Jared, I don't have that kind of power. I can't take out an entire city." Jaquie forced out these last words, as though ashamed that she couldn't do this. "I've been over this with Jesse before; she just won't accept it."

Abruptly, Jaquie went over to the stove again and this time began heating up water.

"What are you doing?" Jared asked.

"Making coffee."

"You drink that stuff too much."

"I'm going to be keeping watch tonight."

"I don't know how you can stand it. It's too bitter for me to drink much of at a time. Especially the way you drink it, without sugar or anything."

Jaquie shrugged, but otherwise didn't reply. Jared went back to his work. He was in a bad mood, too, and didn't feel like making it worse by getting into another argument. Everyone's temper was rubbing raw.

When Jaquie's water shrieked on the stove, she turned off the heat and added instant coffee mix. Drinking her coffee and eating dinner had put her in a more amiable mood, and after a while she turned to Jared and politely asked, "What are you working on?"

"Weapon design," he replied. "It's for a psychic gun."

"A what?"

Jared explained. "The Rocket scientists have invented guns that shoot electricity and ice. We also have flamethrowers and weapons with explosive energy. They've basically mimicked pokemon attacks and harnessed them to be used as weapons."

"Go on,"said Jaquie, interested.

Jared continued with more vigor, knowing he had an audience to storyboard his ideas to. "Well, just about the only weapon the scientists haven't come up with is one that is able to wield psychic energy. And psychic attacks are the most paralyzing and effective of just about all the pokemon attacks. What I'm planning to do is be the the first one to invent a gun that shoots out psychic power. I want to do something none of the other scientists have done."

Jared stopped. "But I can't. I can't figure it out and its darned frustrating too. I've been studying psychic energy for about a year now and all my books tell me it's impossible to capture psychic energy inside a machine."

Jaquie nodded sympathetically.

"Don't worry, I plan to prove them wrong ...someday." Jared sighed, but soon perked up. "In the meantime, I've modified four regular pokeballs into super-strength ones and I've succeeded in inventing a new type of weapon." He tossed Jaquie a modified ice revolver. "Like it? It shoots potions instead of ice. Actually it will shoot any liquid you put in it. The liquid goes into a pokemon as soon as you pull the trigger."

"This will be useful," Jaquie said, scrutinizing the weapon. "I could have used it in the battles."

"Battles?"

"We were attacked twice today, while exploring," said Jaquie. She put the revolver into her belt. "And you?"

"We were only attacked one time. But it was a huge attack." Jared reclined back in his chair, reflectively. "It was sometime after breakfast, and I was working on the pokeballs. Karen was complaining that she was slightly nauseous-complaining, but able to walk around. Kris went out to work on the traps and suddenly came rushing back inside, saying he felt that we were being watched.

"I didn't think much of this, but Karen stood up straight like a soldier and ordered me to grab hold of the weapons. Kris was all ready gathering them up and Karen soon joined him. Then a Hypno materialized out of thin air. Kris blasted it. Another one appeared and Karen shot it down. There were the sounds of traps going off around the headquarters. I was beginning to panic when Karen suggested she use her Dugdrio to take us underground, away from the battle. So she did. For the next two hours, I was basically stuck in that tunnel underneath the ground."

"What happened?" asked Jaquie.

"Karen and Kris went up together to fight the pokemon for a couple of minutes at a time. They were using your confusion technique of teleporting, blasting, and getting out of there. Oh, and Kris went one better by luring pokemon into traps. I didn't see any of this; I was underground. I just sat there and listened to the strange muffled noises above.

"I think we won because of all those traps we set up; between Jesse and James' expertise and Kris' nasty imagination, pokemon were getting hurt left and right. When they finally left, the outside of the camp was destroyed; me and Kris spent the rest of the day fixing it back up. Kris, of course, carried his weapons with him and kept his pokemon out."

"Well," said Jaquie after a pause. "That sounds like quite a battle."

Jared shrugged. "I wouldn't know; I missed it."

"Where are Karen and Kris now?"

"Well, between taking the early watch this morning and fighting in a battle and having to repair all the traps he set, I think-I _think_-Kris was kind of tired; he went to bed early. And Karen was still recovering from the poison. After the battle she got really sick again, so she's been resting all afternoon."

Jaquie nodded.

"So," said Jared. "How were your battles?"

Jaquie shrugged nonchalantly. "There was one group of seven and one group of ten," she summarized. "We were surprised, but so, I think, were they and I used it to my advantage; I capture four of them."

"That's it?" asked Jared, a little disappointed at the lack of details.

"But there was something strange about where they were. I met one group in the jungle and one by the mountains."

"What's so strange about that?"

"Well, after we passed the mountains, there were fields and grasslands, but none of the pokemon attacked us there. Sometimes I got the feeling they were watching us, but they never attacked... And something else is strange, too. The city in the mountain was protected by a great barrier. But the two cities we found today had no barrier and the pokemon around them seemed...well, shy."

"Shy? That is kind of strange. What do you think it means?"

Jaquie looked at him. "You're the scientist. You're the one with the high school education," she gently teased. "Do you have any ideas?"

Jared bit his lip thoughtfully. "Did I ever tell you my theory?"

"What theory?"

Jared paused. "Well," he said, "it's basically this: the pokemon we're dealing with resemble trained pokemon more than wild ones as far as skills and discipline goes."

Jaquie nodded. "True."

"Except that instead of being trained by humans, these pokemon have learned to train themselves. I think someone-possibly humans-might have taught them how to think for themselves. As the pokemon learned to understand themselves, they were able to find ways of increasing their strength and skill, their intelligence. They've learned to create societies." Jared paused. "Is any of what I'm saying making sense to you?"

Jaquie nodded. "Actually it does. I've done the same thing with my Nidorino. I've taught him to think for himself, to be independent. And he's become my best pokemon."

"But Nidorino is loyal to you, isn't he?"

"Yes, extremely loyal."

"See, what I can't understand is why the pokemon would attack us, right from the beginning. If humans did influence them-and I have a strong hunch that they did-why would they want to harm us? The best explanation I can think of-and I've just really thought it up now-is that maybe the pokemon's society split. Maybe there are some pokemon who still like humans-the 'shy' ones-and then there are the hostile ones who hate us. There are always rebels in every group; maybe these rebels took control."

"I guess.."

"And maybe," Jared continued, hitting a vein of inspiration,"maybe that's why Meowth was kidnapped. I mean, its the only pokemon who can speak English that I've ever heard of. Maybe they wanted to communicate with us. The ones who do like humans, I mean. Maybe... "

"Jared," Jaquie interrupted, "I agree with most of your theory; however, I think that if any group of pokemon has him, it would be the ones that don't like us. The ones in that large city in the mountains fortified with a glass barrier. We're on their territory and they know we are here and they don't like us. I'm afraid they have him..." Jaquie sighed. "And somehow, I have to get him out."

"It was just a theory," Jared mumbled.

"A good one," Jaquie pointed out.

Jared sighed. "Well, I'm tired of thinking, now. Forget that thinking part: I'm tired. I going to bed. Good night."

He walked to his room, the one he shared with Jesse and James. The light from the lamp in the main room was swept into shadows and half-shadows: black bruises on the lighted walls. Jared was halfway to his room when he turned around.

"Are you going to bed, too?" he asked Jaquie.

"I can't," she said, picking up her coffee cup. "I have to keep guard."

"Right. I forgot. Good night then."

"Good night."

He glanced once more at Jaquie. She propped herself up on one arm in a slump at the table, but the shadows twisted her to make it seem as though she were hunchbacked, as though years of burden had crippled her. A shadowy figure, dark against the light.

Jared went to bed.

. . .

Meowth had the feeling he'd slept for a long time and that now he should wake up. So he did. He blinked. He sat up.

The room was white. Not that sterilized, medical white, but a soft pearl with watery blue curtains and wooden furniture. Meowth found himself tucked into a large, luxuriant mattress with blue blankets spread over him.

There wasn't that awful feeling of weakness and nausea. The poison was gone.

"Kahn, Kangaskhan." _So, are you feeling better?_

Meowth contracted his claws. "Who's speaking?"

He turned to the source of the voice. A large, powerfully built Kangaskhan stood by the door with all the dignity and authority allotted to age.

"So," the Kangaskhan said, switching to English, "you do speak human language. I had wondered." Her voice was rich and deep.

"Who are you?" Meowth asked.

"My name," she said smoothly, "is Gadara. My advisor Zeroun should be arriving any-"

An Alakazam teleported into the room.

"-minute." Gadara glanced at the Alakazam. "You do have good timing, Zeroun."

_Of course_. Zeroun spoke with his mind, teleporting his thoughts directly into Meowth's head.

"I don't understand," Meowth said.

Gadara turned back to him. "What would you like to know?"

"What am I doing here? Where are my humans, Jesse and James?"

"We kidnapped you," she replied.

"WHAT?"

"You were poisoned. We were very concerned about your health and decided our doctors would be better able to heal you."

"Well, I'm healed now, so take me back."

Gadara and Zeroun exchanged looks. "I can't do that just yet. We need you to answer some questions for us first."

Meowth was on his feet, his claws stretched out in attack position. He eyed them suspiciously. "What questions?" he asked, trying to act tough.

The two large, strong pokemon tolerated his pathetic facade. "Well, first of all, how did you learn how to talk?" Gadara replied patiently.

"I taught myself."

"You mean," Gadara said slowly, "your trainers taught you."

"No, I taught myself," said Meowth. "And I don't have trainers."

"Those humans you mentioned before," said Gadara, "Jesse and James..."

"They aren't my trainers. They're just my humans-my friends."

"You have no trainer?"

"No. Well, I used to, but she abandoned me a long time ago. As I see it, I don't need nobody. Now take me back to Jesse and James."

_May I ask a question?_ put in Zeroun. _Who was your mother?_

"My mother?"

The image came into his mind of a beautiful Persian licking his fur and singing him a lullaby. For a moment the memory wrapped him in a blanket of happiness. Then it faded and Meowth turned on Gadara and Zeroun.

"Hey, what is this? What do you care about my mother?"

_She may be the answer to the riddle of why you can talk._

"I told you I taught myself how to talk."

"Yes," said Gadara, "but how did you learn how to think for yourself? How did you learn to be independent?"

"What?" Meowth was plainly confused.

"Most pokemon don't talk, correct?"

"Of course they don't."

"Even the ones who have been abandoned don't talk. Even the ones who face challenges and obstacles don't talk. How many pokemon do you know are able to articulate their thoughts?"

"Well, uh, not many," Meowth admitted.

"Did you ever wonder why you were so unique?"

Meowth didn't say anything.

_Do you remember your mother?_ Zeroun asked.

"Not very much," said Meowth sadly. Then he quickly snapped, "Not that it's any of your business."

_Would you like to remember her?_

"Zeroun, I don't think..." began Gadara.

_It will be his choice_, Zeroun assured her. Turning to Meowth, he added, _I can search through your memories. It will allow both you and I to see your past. If you feel uncomfortable with this, I won't force you. But I have performed it several times to help people unearth memories they didn't know they had._

Meowth was silent for a minute. "Will it hurt?"

_No._

"And you'll see everything I did in my life?"

_No, not everything. Not for long, anyway. Just the memories that pertain to the subject._

Meowth didn't trust them. He wasn't sure he even understood what the Alakazam was proposing. Yet curiosity stirred in him, and Meowth suddenly felt the overwhelming need to find out about his mother...

"Okay," he said, in a small voice. Then, assuming his Team Rocket attitude, he added, "But I'm warning you, no funny business."

_I wouldn't dream about it._

Zeroun began his work. Meowth saw his own memories flash by him, as though it were homemade movies, as though he were reliving his own experiences. Everything seemed as clear as a drop of water in his mind.

The memories played backwards like a film on rewind. The recent ones came first. Memories of being poisoned. Memories of the Nidoran. Memories of the island. They flashed by him so quickly Meowth had no time to think about them. He saw only a brief glimpse of one before the next one arrived.

Memories of stowing away on the ship, the boat rocking back and forth, feeling seasick. Memories of being given the assignment to follow the other members of Team Rocket to this mysterious island. Memories of being hired as an amateur reporter by the television station.

There was that horrible memory of being fired.

Many memories of Team Rocket. The thrill of the hunt, the drive to capture pokemon. Dreams of riches and respect. And amid them, failures, pain, and disappointment. But there were good memories mixed with each fallen hope, memories of Jesse and James who never abandoned him, who were his only true friends.

Meowth was locked in a daze. The outside world stilled, and he stood breathless while inside everything spun around like a dance.

Memories of how he met Jesse and James, so long ago, when they pretended to "capture" him to graduate from school and he ended up a member of their team.

And before that all those awful memories of how he'd wandered around lonely cities as a stray. Now the memories came more slowly, with more detail, as though the rewind had stopped and the film were playing normally. How he'd struggled and sacrificed to learn to talk and walk and thus win the heart of the beautiful female Meowth that he loved-only to be scorned, rejected.

There was a memory of how he had been abandoned one day, told to stay while his trainer walked off-and never came back.

There was, of course, a memory of his first and only trainer, a cute girl who liked to collect cute pokemon-and who'd promptly left him when his kitten cuteness wore off.

Then, finally, there was a memory of his mother.

Zeroun seemed to freeze this image, because Meowth could see every detail of his mother. A Persian with long, ticklish whiskers and creamy, thick fur and a sparkling jewel upon her head that was so bright and alluring that Meowth knew it was a pure drop of magic. And her eyes-the wisest and saddest eyes you could ever see.

And then Meowth remembered things he'd forgotten about her. The way she sang. Not just meaningless croons, but real songs, with real words, in a real language. She talked, told beautiful stories about living free and independent with other pokemon, equal to humans, not their servants. Memories he had forgotten, but memories that were always with him.

Then those memories flickered out of sight. Zeroun's mind search had ended.

Zeroun turned to Gadara with a confirming nod.

_Sadie. Meowth's mother is Sadie._

. . .

"I believe you asked once where we were," said Gadara. "Allow me to show you."

Meowth stared. A mirage of colorful parks, arenas, and outdoor shops on neatly kept streets, with pokemon walking free. Everything that could be a pokemon's paradise right outside that light little room.

"Meowth, Sadie's son," said Gadara, "welcome to the place of your mother's birth. Welcome to Mountaintop City."


	18. Chapter 16: Gadara's Tale

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 16

**Gadara's Tale**

. . .

. . .

Mountaintop City was perhaps the cleanest and most colorful city Meowth had ever seen. Far from the black pollution, crumbling concrete, and garbage piled high he'd experienced in his youth. The buildings of Mountaintop City were of all different shapes and sizes, some tall and straight, others squat and curvy, some that took the shape of pokemon. They were splashed in every shade of viridian, magenta, turquoise, vermilion, lavender, jade, auburn, saffron, and tangerine. In between the buildings were wild bushes with bright red flowers and small vines with many little bunches of purple buds. The sidewalks were well-pruned grass and the roads were made of moist, sweet-smelling dirt.

"Do the pokemon all live here?" Meowth asked.

"A great deal of them do," said Gadara, smiling as she gave him the tour of the city. "Most of the pokemon in this city-state reside here, but a good chunk lives wild on the outskirts."

They passed a park, a tidy field with tall trees and benches. A group of small, baby pokemon gathered in the middle of the grass, a large Gloom residing over them. Gloom gave the cue and everyone began practicing attacks, mostly scratch and tackle.

"Although we have regular classrooms for school, most teachers choose to conduct their lessons in the park, especially ones that involve battle techniques." Gadara indicated the group in the park. "That's one of the younger classes. As the pokemon grow older, they practice in more diverse and challenging environments."

As though to prove her point, the next park they passed was a waterway. Part of a river had been diverted into a massive pool. Raised platforms bobbed in the deep end, and here, Bellsprouts stood back to back, furiously vine-whipping, while Magikarp sprang from the depths. The fish launched a consistent, coordinated attack, and it was clear the Bellsprouts were losing.

Meowth looked away from the battle. Gadara was talking again. "Of course, we don't just train pokemon to fight. Our schools also give lessons in math and reading, the sciences, the arts, political and social sciences, and community service. But martial arts is our specialty. We have three professional stadiums in this city, more than in all the others put together."

"What do you mean 'others'?" asked Meowth.

"There are four other city-states on this island." Gadara smiled proudly. "But Mountaintop City is the largest. In addition to having three stadiums, we have two major libraries, a professional stage, four hospitals, three power plants, a science laboratory, and five different museums, to begin with."

"You seem to know a lot about this place," quipped Meowth.

"Of course I do," said Gadara. "I'm the mayor of this city-state. I'm its leader."

She was mayor, but she made no big fuss as she walked with Meowth along the streets. She blended in well among the pokemon, smiling and waving at many of them, not with that superficial formality of a politician, but with the genuine warmth of an old friend. And yet there was something about her that did set her apart as the leader, a sort of a fondness for the city, a great love and pride of it, as though it were her beloved child. Meowth didn't doubt she was the leader; it was a presumed fact.

"This place almost sounds like a human city," Meowth commented. "With the libraries and stadiums and stuff."

They passed a group of Pidgeys on the corner. On their instructor's note they all sang at once, not the usual wretched squawking, but a harmonious coo.

"Maybe better than a human city," Meowth said.

Gadara nodded. "Our civilization is unique. If it looks somewhat human, well, we were influenced by humans."

"So there are humans here on this island?" Meowth looked around. "I haven't seen any."

"The ones who built this city are gone." Gadara shook her head sadly. "They came three hundred years ago: scientists, writers, teachers. Enlightened souls who believed that humans and pokemon could live together in harmony and equality. They taught us how to read and write. They taught us how to _be_, raised us from lowly servants to civilized, learned beings, capable of taking care of ourselves and others. We built this society together, humans and pokemon. For many years, humans and pokemon lived side by side in peace and freedom, as _equals_." Gadara looked reminiscent.

"So what happened to the humans?" asked Meowth.

Gadara's eyes were sorrowful. "Some thirty years ago, there came the plague. I was still young when it happened, but I remember it well. We pokemon were not affected, but the humans all became dreadfully ill. Our best scientists went to work on the cure, but all efforts failed. In the meantime, the humans began to die, quickly and in large numbers.

"But we remembered that the humans once came from a different place. Perhaps the humans they'd left behind could discover a cure. There was a long debate. Some wanted to venture out to find the other humans. Some thought it would be better to stay."

Gadara stopped. They had walked towards the very edge, where the city began to merge with mountain.

"Shall we turn back."

Meowth nodded. "But you still haven't told me about my mother."

"Sadie." Gadara smiled. "I knew her because she was in one of my classes. She was very clever, very adventurous and fun-loving. She was never a particularly skilled battler, but she was very determined. That's how she learned to talk. Even then, few pokemon spoke human language as it was very difficult to learn. Your mother did though."

She continued, "I was never very close to her, but I do remember that she was very devoted to a particular human. When he got sick, she became one of the most ardent pro-expeditioners. She argued that they could wait to die, or they could find a way to live. In the end, it was decided that some humans would leave to look for a cure, while others stayed behind. Sadie's human left, and she went with him. I remember how the crowds cheered and prayed as the boats left and how the pokemon waved good-bye." Gadara sighed sadly. "Those pokemon never returned. The humans that stayed perished within a year."

Meowth was quiet. He was thinking about his mother. He hadn't really known her that well; he was taken away from her when he was very young. He'd had no idea she was so brave. He wished that he was more like her.

Gadara seemed to understand what he felt. "You're a lot like your mother, I can tell. You have that same feistiness, that same independence, that same determination. The truth is, the pokemon here on this island aren't much stronger and smarter than the ones you're used to. We have just learned how to use our potential to the fullest. We've just taught ourselves how to fight smarter. Just as I'm sure your mother taught you and you have taught yourself."

Meowth remembered now. When he was little and him mother told him those stories, she'd always finished by telling them never to let anyone treat them as an inferior. As a slave. Never let anyone dominate over you. Always remember your own self-worth.

"They say that a pokemon learns the most right after his birth," said Gadara. "Maybe your mother taught you something and life taught you the rest. And that's why you know how to talk. That's why you have no trainer."

Maybe it was the city, maybe it was the story of his mother, but Meowth felt something inside him stir. Everything in his life suddenly made sense, and he knew his purpose in his life. It was a feeling that lasted only a moment, but made Meowth feel as though he could fly.

"Now," said Gadara, "I'd like you to tell me about your life. What's this 'Team Rocket' you're in?"

And everything came crashing down.

"Zeroun should be back soon, and when he gets here you can tell us both about-"

"Uh, you don't want to know about that," said Meowth quickly, trying to change the subject.

"Why not?"

"It's, uh, not really that interesting."

Gadara's eyes probed him. "Are you ashamed of your life?" she asked, getting right to the root of the problem.

"Well, no. Not_ exactly_..." Meowth didn't used to be ashamed. But it was different here in this city. He had just heard of how heroic his mom had been. His criminal past somehow didn't seem quite as ... exalted... as his mother's had been.

"Meowth, it doesn't matter what you did in your past life. I won't be angry at you or think any less of you because of it. But it's important I know about the humans you came with."

"You already know about humans," Meowth wheedled. "So you don't really need to know about these humans..."

Gadara's face darkened. "Our humans were different from yours," she said quietly. "They didn't try to capture us, and make us fight their battles. We were their equals."

"Well, how do you know my humans aren't like that?"

"One human has already captured one of my people in one of her 'pokeballs'. _Pokeballs_," she said with sudden derisiveness. "Another word for chains."

Meowth was shocked by the intensity of her speech. She spoke with none of her previous pleasantness, but with passionate bitterness. Her body was hunched in attack position, and her eyes flamed. Even though none of her anger was directed towards him, Meowth was terrified.

Zeroun teleported besides them just then. _Not here_, he told her, in his psychic voice.

Gadara controlled her rage. In an instant, her pleasantness returned. "I'm sorry," she told Meowth. "I just take it personally when someone threatens one of my citizens." She smiled apologetically.

Meowth was still wary.

_Perhaps if we had some privacy_, said Zeroun, speaking up. _I can teleport us straight to your study, Gadara_.

"Please do."

A moment later they were inside.

"Now," Gadara said to Meowth, "would you like to tell us your story?" And she looked at him with patient expectance.

Meowth didn't want to tell them. He was still embarrassed about his past and now, seeing Gadara get angry, he was doubly frightened. But he felt like he didn't have a choice.

Slowly, hesitantly, he told them.

. . .

Gadara was furious at herself for losing her temper in front of Meowth. She knew that was the reason Meowth had withdrawn from them. Every word that came out of his mouth seemed forced, as though afraid she might hurt him if he didn't tell her the right answer. Gadara made a conscious effort to keep calm and try to be understanding.

When Meowth saw that neither one of them was going to explode upon him if he said the wrong word, he became more at ease. Gradually he began telling her more and more. By the time Meowth's doctor, a Chancey named Chloe, came in and told Meowth that he'd better get some rest, Meowth was back to being at ease.

With Meowth gone, Gadara sat back on her chair and brooded.

Humans, as she saw it, were the problem. She'd known it when the first group of trespassers came, plundering and enslaving. But these new Team Rocket humans were especially threatening. A criminal organization dedicated to the illegal capture of pokemon-these were her latest foes. How would she deal with them?

She was surprised that Meowth was part of this organization. Why would any pokemon willingly choose to enslave others of his kind?

_You have to understand his situation_, said Zeroun.

He had, of course, been scanning her thoughts and she hadn't noticed. This was typical; Zeroun had two ways of reading people's mind. He could search people's minds, extracting-forcefully, if necessary-thoughts and memories from the past, but in this method the other person always knew his mind was being read.

Zeroun could also scan thoughts, read whatever the other person was currently thinking at the precise moment. This was far less noticeable. While most people found both processes a bit repulsive, Gadara didn't mind the latter. She and Zeroun were old friends, and she trusted him.

Zeroun continued. _What was he supposed to do? He was too independent and hurt to ever want another human trainer. He wasn't strong enough to survive on his own, except for scrounging for scraps in the city. In Team Rocket, he didn't need a trainer, he wouldn't be alone and defenseless, and there was also that elusive potential to be rich_.

"But doesn't he have any morals?" said Gadara. "He's a pokemon himself! How could he tolerate-support-this cruelty?"

_Meowth was raised in an environment where capturing pokemon is common. Humans ruling over pokemon-at times in extremely tyrannical ways-is socially accepted. Would it have made you feel any better if he had gone with a human trainer-and been used by the human to capture pokemon_ _legally_?

"No," said Gadara. "As far as I'm concerned all capture of pokemon is illegal."

_You say that, but you're still thinking that Meowth's decision was wrong_.

Gadara said nothing.

_If you want my opinion, he probably did a lot less harm to pokemon than if he did have a trainer. After all, he isn't a very good criminal. In fact none of his and his teammates' schemes have been particularly successful, to put it mildly. I don't think Meowth has been exposed to the cruelty that comes with a life of crime because he never has the chance to pay for the high cost of victory. His team always loses_.

"I can understand that."

_But it still bothers you_.

"I know what's right and what's wrong."

_I'm only trying to help you see his point of view_.

"And I appreciate that. But Meowth isn't really the problem. And I'm afraid he might not be part of the solution. The real threat is Team Rocket. Not Meowth's little group, which wasn't even supposed to be here. The real members." She sighed. "I'm not sure what to do about them. I don't want to launch another attack. The last one wasn't very successful, and there were only two of them and not even _her_."

_There were three. There was that other male_.

"He doesn't count; he doesn't fight."

_By the way, I have more good news. Kolb and Enki have reported sightings of humans as well_.

"_Her_?"

_Who else_?

"That means she seen all five city-states. And none of the militias I sent out have done any good?"

_Apparently not_.

"And she's only been here for five days."

_The other leaders are requesting you meet them in the decision-Senate tomorrow. The situation, apparently, requires a decision_.

Gadara sighed. She hadn't wanted the other leaders to know about the humans. They were still clinging to the paradigm that humans were benevolent beings, bearing gifts of peace and intelligent. For Gadara that legend had died a long time ago.

Gadara was mayor of Mountaintop City. She cared for her people as though they were her own children. They were, in a way. She looked over them, guided them, and protected them, and they loved her for it. But even they were disillusioned by humans.

The problem with the decision-Senate was that they were liable to vote to negotiate some sort of peace with the humans. Gadara knew that would only destroy them all. They were too trusting; they would let the humans walk right into their cities and plant a bomb in it.

_So will you be going to the decision-Senate tomorrow_?

Gadara didn't answer her friend. She was thinking. Soon the others would realize, wouldn't they? Already pokemon had been hurt, already pokemon had been captured. Soon, they would realize attack was the only possible route necessary. Or would they? And if they did, would "soon" be too late?

_We have a visitor_.

Gadara looked up. Chloe was knocking on the door.

"Kang, kang," said Gadara, invitingly. _Come in_.

Chloe waddled in. "Chancey, Chance," she said. _It's Meowth_. Gadara and Zeroun looked alarmed. "Chance, Chance." _He's all right_. "Chance, Chaaancey, ChanCEEE, ChAAAYNce." _He just wants to know when he can see Jesse and James_.


	19. Chapter 17: On Being Rational

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 17

**On Being Rational**

. . .

. . .

Three days. That was how long it took before things went back to "normal."

Three days of Jaquie leaving at dawn with Jesse and James to search the island. Three days of Karen still feeling weak and cranky, the poison slowly diffusing out of her system. Three days that Kris spent setting alarms and traps around the house, his rage toward Jaquie smoldering hot.

Three days of planning his revenge.

Jaquie had humiliated him. Repeatedly. From the time he was a child, he'd endured her punishment. Oh, he knew that he did wrong and she was right, that _rationally_ he should just accept Jaquie's orders, because she knew best.

But Kris' hatred wasn't rational. Jaquie was rational, Karen was rational, Jared was rational, even his older sister Cheryl was rational. Rational was a problem written on the blackboard in neat hand-writing in white chalk. Rational was the teacher explaining for the hundredth time that if he didn't start paying attention he'd end up flunking summer school. Rational was lessons and rules, demanding that the world make sense, that he make sense, and then punishing, punishing, always punishing when he didn't.

Kris wasn't rational.

And as he saw it, he didn't need to be. The American Revolution wasn't a rational event. Where was the sense in overthrowing your rather benevolent ruler just because he taxed you a few pennies to pay for a war that took place on your land? But it worked. The colonist got what they wanted.

What Kris wanted was to be in a place where his life wasn't dictated by a dominant matriarch. Here it was Jaquie. At home it had been his sister Cheryl.

Cheryl was, on the whole, worse than Jaquie. Kris didn't fit into her ideal of a younger brother-apparently she didn't like him coming home with his new jeans torn, blood dripping from his nose, proudly proclaiming he had beat up a boy two grades higher-so she tried to change him. She scolded and nagged and tried to control everything he did, from what time he did his homework, to what friends he should speak with.

Then Cheryl found a new weapon: guilt. "If you won't do it for me," she sobbed, "then do it for Curtis." Curtis, their little brother. Curtis, two years younger than Kris, tried to copy everything he did. And much as he hated to admit it, Kris did feel responsible for Curtis. But there was no way he could be everything Cheryl wanted him to be-clean, courteous, polite-he wasn't a boy scout, for goodness sake.

At last he found a perfect solution. He left.

That's when he found Team Rocket.

Most of the time, he preferred Jaquie. Jaquie was strict, but she usually left him alone. But on the rare occasion when she got really pissed off at Kris, she made sure he remembered. She could drive red hot needles of humiliation under his skin, and she would always be as cool and as rational as ever.

That's what Kris thought about all those three long days. How Jaquie had hurt him. And how he'd get her back. She liked to humiliate him, well, he would humiliate her. He'd thought up a plan and let it digest itself through his mind. It would work, he knew it would work.

He learned long ago that he couldn't fight Jaquie. But the beauty of his plan was that he didn't have to fight her. Not much anyway. All he really had to do was open his mouth at the end of he battle, to gloat.

But first there was one important resource he needed if he wanted his plan to work at all. An ally. A specific ally.

Karen.

. . .

Jesse was shaking and for once fear wasn't the motivator.

"I am not your slave Jaquie!" she yelled. "I am not here to do your bidding!"

Jaquie sighed in that infuriating way of hers. "The arrangement was that we share the food and shelter and keep you protected on this island. In return you do what you can to make up for some of the damages you've caused."

"Meowth is still missing!" Jesse said. "We should be looking for him!"

"The grove of fruit trees I've found are in a secluded spot. You can borrow some of the weapons. If you keep hold of the tracking device-"

"We shouldn't be wasting our time picking fruit!"

"-then you should be relatively safe from danger."

"Are you listening to anything I'm saying?!" Jesse shouted.

"I'm listening. But I'm not hearing anything reasonable." Jaquie's voice was growing testy. "We've gone over this before; we've searched over all of the island-"

"We could have missed something!"

"-and we found nothing!" Jaquie's voice grew louder, more insistent. "If we had some clear idea of how to rescue Meowth, I would do it. But we don't."

"I already told you he's in those cities! I know it!"

"Would you like to break through that barrier?" Jaquie invited. "Please, be my guest. Take on an entire army of viscous pokemon."

"You could do it!"

"Again, we've been over this. I don't have the power to-"

"You're just not trying hard enough!"

Jaquie stiffened. "You are accusing _me_ of not trying hard enough?"

Jesse knew she was on dangerous territory, but she didn't care. "You're smart Jaquie, smarter than anyone else I know. And your pokemon are the best. You can take on anyone if you tried. You could take on the whole city if you tried-"

"Jesse," she warned.

"You could rescue Meowth if you really wanted to! If you tried even a little Meowth would be free already!"

"I can't do the impossible."

"Sure you can! I've seen you do it a million times!"

"The discussion is over, Jesse." Jaquie folded her arms.

"I'm not finished yet!" screamed Jesse. Why did Jaquie never listen?

"After you and James have picked enough of the fruit from the trees," Jaquie continued from where she left off, "I want it preserved."

"Why do we need to pick fruit anyway!"

"We left quite a few crates of food on that ship. Our supply has been severely reduced-"

"There's plenty of food left," insisted Jesse. "I've seen them, boxes and boxes."

"There's plenty of coffee, tea, and sugar, but as far as basic supplies-"

"We have enough!"

"It will only last for about two weeks."

"Two weeks is plenty of time."

"Not for a voyage that's supposed to be two months."

"Two weeks is plenty of time!" Jesse insisted. "You're just trying to get rid of me!"

Jaquie froze. Jesse knew, from that second of speechlessness, that there must be some truth to what she'd just said, and it hurt her. It hurt her deep inside, where she'd buried that little girl Jesse, who looked up to her big sister so much, who wanted to be just like her.

"You're trying to get rid of me," Jesse said. "Like you always try to get rid of me. You've sent me off to some fancy pokemon school, you ignored me the whole time I've been in Team Rocket, and you're ignoring me now! You don't want me to help the team, you want me to get out of your way-" Her voice was getting loud and raspy, as tears choked in her throat.

"Jesse, please don't get overemotional on me." Jaquie was still so hard and calm, but panic was rising in her eyes.

"We could have rescued Meowth together! We could have ruled the world together, but you always had to be off on your own! I'm not your sister, I'm some pesky nuisance you need to look after! Admit it!" Jesse wiped the tears from her eyes. "Well, I don't need you. I can find Meowth by myself if I want to!"

"No, you can't," Jaquie said. Her older sister stood with the full weight of authority squared into her shoulders, but there was pity in those blue eyes. "If I can't rescue Meowth, you can't. And that's why you're not going out into the the forest by yourself. You will stay by the apple trees and pick fruit."

Jesse's head drooped. "I'm not your slave," she muttered.

But she hoisted the empty backpack on her shoulder and did what her sister commanded.

. . .

Jared didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he had a seat by the window and he could hear them shouting. After Jesse stormed off, Jaquie came back inside. She poured herself another cup of coffee, the third this morning. Her hands were shaking. _Too much caffeine_, Jared thought.

"I know it's none of my business," he said, "but I think Jesse has a point. It does seem kind of heartless to give up on rescuing Meowth after just three day."

Jaquie sipped her coffee. "If I were to rescue my sister's pokemon right now, I would have to go against a whole army of island pokemon. You may think I'm heartless to go back to capturing pokemon-"

She was right. It made sense. Jaquie was being perfectly rational.

"-but how else do you expect me to defeat that army?"

. . .

James turned the video camera on and peered through the lens. A small clump of fruit trees pressed tightly against the emerald jungle. In the middle of the frame, Jesse ripped an apple from a tree and threw it into the open backpack on the ground.

James put down the camera. "There's nothing to tape here."

"Then come help me with these fruit," Jesse grumped.

He shrugged, left the camera on its tripod, and tugged on one of the fruits. It came off its stem quite easily. While he filled his arms with apples, Jesse continued to snatch the fruit from the trees and throw it, without much direction, towards the backpack. Faster and faster, occasionally hitting James, her fury growing with each fruit plucked.

"We should be looking for Meowth!" she said bitterly. "You know what? I don't care what Jaquie says! I'm going to find him!"

"What?" The load of fruit James carried dropped to the ground.

"You heard me! I'm going to look for Meowth!"

"But Jaquie said..."

"I don't care what Jaquie said!" Jesse's face was flushed and her hands curled into tight fists. " All my life I've been trying to do what Jaquie said and I've still been a failure! Well, if I'm going to be a failure, it's going to be on my own terms!"

James couldn't help but be struck by awe at Jesse's daring. "But Jesse, this is Jaquie. And Jaquie is...Jaquie. You can't just defy her."

"Well, _I_ can and _I_ will." Jesse's eyes shone with determination. "And I don't care what she says, because I _can_, I _will_ find Meowth!"

_But what if Meowth finds you_?

Jesse and James yelped. From out of nowhere, an Alakazam suddenly appeared. Huge and terrifying, it gazed at them with cool, observant eyes. But besides the Alakazam...

"Jesse! James! Is it really you?"

"Meowth!" they cried.

Zeroun watched the two humans and the cat pokemon run towards each other. They hugged and cried and laughed in a jumble of happy confusion. It reminded Zeroun of his own human to whom he had been devoted. Gadara had forgotten that bond that tied humans to pokemon and remembered only for the cruelty... but Zeroun hadn't.

_Jesse and James_.

They looked up in fearful surprise, as though remembering the Alakazam for the first time.

_Please, do not be frightened. I will not harm you_. _I am Zeroun, the primary advisor to Gadara, leader of Mountaintop City and the Southern Tropics_.

"Huh?" said the female human-Jesse, he presumed.

"This place here," Meowth explained.

"What's Mountaintop City?" the male human, James, asked. "Hey, is it that one place with that barrier?"

Zeroun nodded.

"And the birthplace of my mother," Meowth added proudly.

_Our leader Gadara requests an audience with you two-_ Zeroun continued.

"That means she wants to meet you," interrupted Meowth, jumping up and down.

_-inside the city_, Zeroun finished.

Jesse and James tensed up.

"Wait, how do we know this isn't some kind of trap?" Jesse asked.

"You did attack us before," James pointed out.

_We were provoked_, said Zeroun. And Gadara's troops, unfortunately, were trained for a full attack on the slightest provocation. _Please, understand that while we basically want peace with humans, we will defend ourselves if necessary_.

"You want peace?" asked James.

Zeroun nodded. _Once, on this island, human and pokemon lived together in harmony. Today, the humans are no more, but we would still like to maintain... friendly... relations with them. We want peace again, for humans and pokemon. But we know little about the human world you live in. That is why we request that you three-Jesse, James, and Meowth-serve as diplomats to our city_.

"Diplomats?" wondered James.

"What would we have to do as diplomats?" asked Jesse, skeptically.

_We would share information, try to negotiate peace treaties, etc. Nothing strenuous_.

"We don't know anything about being diplomats."

_We'll teach you. Will you accept the position_?

Jesse looked at him shrewdly. "Give us a minute to discuss it," she said.

The three of them all bowed down in a huddle.

"Can we trust them, Meowth?" asked Jesse.

"Of course you can," Meowth said confidently. "They cured me of poison."

"You, but not Karen." Jesse looked suspiciously at Zeroun. "And they did attack us, even when we did nothing to them."

"Well," said Meowth uncomfortably, "They were nice to me. I think Gadara just doesn't like humans. But maybe she changed her mind. I bet she did. She wants what's best for her people."

"Maybe."

"I don't think we should go," put in James. "Jaquie told us not to wander around in the forest. Besides, I think she'd be angry if we went with them."

Something flashed in Jesse's eyes. She stood up.

"Alakazam," she said. "We accept."

"What?" James said.

"Don't worry. They know that if they do anything to us, they will have to deal with _my_ big sister." Jesse looked Zeroun in the eye. "So I wouldn't try anything, if I were you."

"But Jesse, we were supposed to have these fruit picked..."

_I will take care of that_, said Zeroun. He raised his hand. The fruit snapped off their stems and floated into the backpack. It was quite easy to do; the humans needn't stare so.

_Are you ready to go_? Zeroun asked.

They all nodded. Zeroun prepared to teleport them, forming a picture in his mind of Mountaintop City...

"Wait," burst out James. "My camera!"

But it was too late. They had already left.

As the two humans and the two pokemon faded from the scene, a breeze teased the trees, now bare of most of its fruit. There were no signs of life and no signs of civilization-aside from a backpack filled with apples and James' video camera. It sat on its tripod, between the tree roots, sheltered by the shade. When James put it down, he hadn't checked to see if he had left it on. He had.

And it had a perfect view of the conversation.

. . .

Karen stared at Kris. Blinked. Continued to stare.

"Well?" he prompted.

"You're crazy," she said flatly.

Kris grinned. "Of course I am, but will you do it?"

It was about two in the afternoon, and the headquarters were empty, Jaquie having gone out to train and Jared having followed her. They were alone.

Karen crossed her arms. "Kris, it's not that I mind overthrowing the hierarchal order of Team Rocket with you every once in a while, but you think you could have picked a better time."

"What better time? This is perfect. We may finally have the opportunity to overthrow Jaquie!"

"Opportunity?" returned Karen. "What opportunity? We're on a hostile island with strong pokemon that we-we, including Jaquie-can barely defeat."

"Exactly!" Kris said. "So you see my point?"

"No," Karen replied, utterly flummoxed.

Kris tucked his magazine under his arm. "You said it yourself: Jaquie can barely defeat these pokemon-and that was with our help. We've never been able to defeat Jaquie, but maybe these pokemon can. Think about if they fought, just Jaquie and the pokemon. Who'd win? Even if Jaquie does come out ahead, she'd be weakened. Then we could step in."

Kris paused, letting the information sink in.

"So here's what I'm proposing," he said, grinning devilishly. "We find a group of hostile pokemon. We provoke them. We direct them towards Jaquie. We step out of the way and let Jaquie and the pokemon fight each other. And then, we finish business."

"That's it?" Karen said. "That's not much of a plan, Kris. How are we supposed to get the pokemon to fight Jaquie and then just, 'step out of the way?' It doesn't exactly work that way."

"See, that's where you come in," said Kris, slithering over towards Karen. "I need you to help me work out the details. If you-"

"No."

Kris stepped back. "No?"

"This is a stupid plan. It's not going to work."

Kris hadn't expected such an abrupt rejection. "Look, I know the plan is a little rough right now-"

"It's too risky. You know what would happen if we lose? Jaquie would kill us. She would literally kill us."

"I know that. But don't you think it's worth the risk? Come on, Karen." He tried to look her in the eye.

She avoided his gaze. "Do you know how great a chance there is that we will lose?"

"But what if we win?"

Karen's shudder was barely perceptible. "Then we'd be traitors."

Now it was Kris' turn to look at his partner like she was crazy. "You don't want to overthrow Jaquie? You don't want to pay her back for everything she's done to us?"

"Everything she's done to _you_," Karen corrected. "She doesn't bother me. I only helped you rebel against her last time because, well, because I couldn't stand you at the time. And even then I was uncomfortable with the idea."

"But this is Team Rocket," said Kris incredulously. "I mean, you're allowed to do what you want. You're not supposed to feel guilty about it."

"This isn't just stealing pokemon," Karen snapped back. "You're talking about overturning Jaquie here! You want us to tear the whole Team Rocket structure to bits!"

"Not Team Rocket; just Jaquie!"

"Jaquie _is_ Team Rocket! She rules over everything. She symbolizes everything Team Rocket is supposed to represent. Try to separate the two; you might as well separate the government from the country."

There was a long pause. The silence stretched.

"You're right," said Kris at last. "She rules everything. And she makes rules for everything. And I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of it! I came to Team Rocket to escape rules and responsibilities. To live how I want to! Not to have my life controlled by her."

"Fine," said Karen. "But that's not why I came."

Kris knew the story. Karen's older brother Terrance had driven her away from her home. He'd treated her like she was weak and helpless and needed constant protection, simply because she was a girl.

"I don't mind having responsibility, as I was never given any at home," Karen said. "And I like rules. I like being in Team Rocket. I have no desire to throw away my past nine years here by trying to overthrow Jaquie."

Kris decided to switch tactics. "Look, I like being in Team Rocket, too. I'm not going to do any permanent damage. Jaquie can still be leader if she wants. I just want to beat her in battle, just once."

"What good will that do?"

"It will get me respect," Kris said. "She doesn't respect me! She still treats me like I'm some dumb little kid who can't do a damned thing! Oh sure, she treats _you_ nice, because you always follow her orders, but with me everything I do is wrong! She thinks I can't do anything; I'll show her!"

"Yes, I'm sure trying to beat her up in battle will win you respect," said Karen sarcastically.

"It will! Power gives you respect, it's as simple as that!"

"You don't want respect, Kris; you want revenge."

"Well, wouldn't you?" He glared her up and down. "Don't talk to me about revenge, Karen; you're still trying to avenge yourself against the whole male species."

Karen bristled. "This is different!"

"How?"

"It just is!"

Kris felt like boiling over. There was no explaining to her. And now he was so upset at everything-at Karen, at Jaquie, at rules, at _everything_!-he felt like a volcano with the pressure of lava simmering up inside.

"Fine!" he erupted "If you won't help me, I'll do this by myself!"

"What?" Karen's tone suddenly changed; it became low and worried. "You're not serious?"

"I'm dead serious."

"Kris, you can't possibly hope to beat her," Karen said bluntly. "You have no plan, and you're hopeless at working out details. You should just give up the whole idea."

"This is _my_ plan and it _will_ work!"

"You're going to get yourself thrown out of Team Rocket!"

"I don't care! This may be the only chance I get to pay her back for all the hurt she caused me." Kris looked at Karen straight in the eye. "And I'm not going to let it slip by!"

Karen stared at him. "You're really going to do this," she said in wonder. Then, angrily, "This is crazy! You know it's crazy, and you're still going to go through with it!"

"Yes."

Karen clenched her crossed arms tighter. "I hate you, Kris. I really, _really_ hate you."

"Well, you wouldn't be the first."

Karen blew out her breath. "Fine!" she said angrily. "I'll help you!"

"What?"

"I said I'll help you!" She uncurled her arms, put them saucily on her hips. "So shut up and start thinking of ways to get the pokemon to attack Jaquie!"


	20. Chapter 18: Training

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 18

**Training**

. . .

. . .

"Mind if I join you?" Jared asked.

It was afternoon, and Jaquie was taking out her last pokeball. Actually, she'd heard him coming a long time ago, the soft clump of footsteps, the swish of leaves. She'd guessed it was Jared; he always seemed to be buzzing around her like a harmless, if occasionally annoying, fly.

"I don't mind," Jaquie replied.

In a way, she pitied Jared. He was always by himself. Karen and Kris had each other, and, despite their bickering, theirs was a strong bond that loyally excluded the company of all others. The same went for Jesse and James and Meowth. It was the way of Team Rocket partnerships, and Jared could not simply join in. For that matter neither could Jaquie, but unlike Jared her exile was her own choice.

She turned back to her pokeball. "Just don't be a distraction."

"I won't be. And thanks," Jared said. "You know, I heard you were a great trainer, but I never had the chance to watch you work. Not even in the battles."

"You haven't had a chance to watch the tapes?"

"No. James is very possessive of it. And when he and Jesse disappeared after lunch, they took the camera with them."

"What do you mean disappeared?" Jaquie asked.

"Well, the moment you left, they looked at each other and headed out the door. I heard them mutter something about Meowth, so I have the idea they might be searching for him. Don't worry; I saw James take the tracking device with him, so they should be all right."

Despite his reassurances, Jared's narrative put a dark cloud in Jaquie's mind. She didn't like the idea of Jesse and James wandering in the forest by themselves, not when she was in the middle of training. Should anything happen to them, her pokemon would be tired and that would make the rescue very difficult.

On the other hand, she'd left them alone all morning to pick the apples and nothing had happened to them. Besides, it wasn't as if they were completely helpless; they had been on their own more many years, albeit in a tamer environment. She couldn't watch them every moment. Jaquie reasoned this, but she was still troubled.

Jared, in the meantime, had settled down on a nearby log. "So what are doing now?"

Jaquie's mind snapped back to the task at hand. "Right now, I'm preparing to take out Nidorina."

Her ice revolver was looped loosely onto her belt at her right side. To her left was a steel contraption that resembled a gray spider with six long legs instead of eight and a red number 24 painted on its elongated abdomen.

Jared tilted his head quizzically. "_Preparing_ to take her out?"

"Yes," said Jaquie, unlooping her pokeball. "Preparing. And you might want to move back a little, Jared."

The small sphere grew with the push of the button until it filled her palm nicely. She twirled the ball around in her hand, once, twice, feeling the smoothness of the metal, the roughness of the enhanced metal fingers. "You see, I haven't administered the amnesia serum to Nidorina. And I don't plan to either. Pokeball, go."

The red and white sphere hit the ground. The steel fingers unclamped and Nidorina came out.

. . .

Being in the pokeball was like being in a deep sleep. No, it was like being in a coma. It was being dead to the world, senses disconnected from the body, mind swimming in the unconsciousness. Time was irrelevant, movement impossible.

It was like living in a black hole.

When Nidorina came out from the darkness, from that deadness, she was dazed by the renewed sense of life she felt. The sun kissed her skin and the breeze ruffled her fur. The rush of colors stung her eyes, yet she was so happy to see the greens and browns of the forest, the blue of the eternal sky.

She relished all these things before her gaze fell on that wretched human gloating above her. Nidorina bristled and began calculating a means of escape. There was a thick clump of bushes not ten feet to her left, she noted. She sprinted for them. The human would be caught off guard by her unexpected movement, she hoped, and with any luck she could get to the bushes before the human drew any of her other pokemon. From the cover of the bushes she could fight, if need be, and escape.

The human did not move but said one word.

"Ryhorn."

The bushes were within her reach when the ground shattered. The dust cast her vision into a colorless blur and dulled her ears to the noise of the forest. Then she felt the sharp horn spearing through her body and all she could feel was the pain, the _pain_, as she was thrown upward, as the earth and the sky intermingled.

"Dodrio."

The dust settled back to the earth, and Nidorina, moaning on her side, could see that now the brilliant blue sky had become her enemy. From the sky came the bird and from the bird came a wind. Not the gentle breeze that had nurtured her before, but a fierce tornado that cut her skin with its razor sharpness, that strangled her in its arms and threw her back down.

"Nidorino."

From the bushes, like a monster from ancient tales, thundered Nidorino. Now his horn bit into her and his weight crushed her. He pinned her down upon the earth, his sharp horn jabbed against her neck.

"Slowbro."

And just to be sure that Nidorina couldn't move-at all-the slow pink pokemon imposed a psychic grip that suppressed her completely.

Nidorina's eyes were open. She could see the bushes, closer than they had been, now perhaps only two feet away. If she could get just that far, crawl those few inches, she could have made it to freedom. Those dense emerald bushes, just two feet away...and might as well be a hundred miles.

The human made a motion, and Nidorino stepped away from her. It made no difference; Slowbro's psychic attack was still in effect and Nidorina was paralyzed.

The human picked up a steel skeleton near her feet. Nidorina glared up at her. Her claws itched to scratch the hateful human, scratch her until all her arrogance was torn right out of her. The human knelt down, and Nidorina struggled harder against the psychic attack, struggled while staring into the cold blue eyes of her captor, as blue as the ocean before it drowns you.

Jaquie put the device on Nidorina's back. The metal was cool and smooth upon Nidorina's sweaty skin and it sank down into her. Jaquie moved down the legs of that horrible device and snapped them into place. With the first snap, Nidorina found the steel encircling her neck, and she panicked, wondering if the device was meant to strangle her. But no, that was the infuriating part, the metal allowed her just enough room to breathe, while its shuddering touch was a constant reminder of the noose around her neck. Snap. Snap. The other two steel legs were strapped around her stomach. They clung to her, just tight enough to keep the device firmly in place.

"Slowbro," Jaquie said again, and the psychic attack evaporated.

Nidorina still couldn't move. The metal anchored her solidly to the floor. Nidorina squirmed against it, but its embrace would not be broken.

She screamed and shrieked and thrashed about in frustration. Tears came to Nidorina's eyes, tears of resentment and anguish, tears that mourned of the pride and dignity dispassionately ripped away. Nidorina was strong. She never would have believed she could be shackled like this.

"You're harsh," observed a voice. It was a quiet voice, low but objective, probably male. Nidorina had never heard it before.

"You think so."

"You hit her with four different pokemon before she could blink, and now you're restraining her with a #24 strengthening device. Those devices are intended for pokemon weighing 50-70 pounds-Beedrill and Wartortle, for instance. Nidorinas average 44 pounds in weight."

"It's not beyond her capacity. I wouldn't put it on her if I wasn't sure she could handle it. Besides, anything less and she may escape."

"She's your own pokemon."

"That's ridiculous. I may have captured her, but she certainly isn't my own. If she was, she wouldn't resist me."

"You're ruthless, aren't you Jaquie?"

"Yes, but I have to be."

Nidorina heard these voices sharply but paid no attention. Still on her side, it was impossible to get up on pure strength alone. So Nidorina kept digging. If she could dig a hole under her she could shift her weight from her side, back onto all four legs again. Then she could stand up.

The human must have seen what she was doing, but she did not comment on it. Instead she said, "Nidorina, can you understand me? If you can, stop digging."

Nidorina began digging harder, ripping huge chunks of the ground into the air at a furious pace.

"Good. So you do know English. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jaquie..."

The hole had tilted her slightly and now Nidorina could use all four legs effectively. She clawed the earth furiously. Soon she'd be able to stand on all four legs.

"...and I will be your trainer."

Nidorina stood. She could see Jaquie now straight ahead, looking cool. She aimed a fireball on the tip of her tail and hurled it at the hateful human.

Jaquie pointed her revolver and fired. The fireball was shrouded in ice. With an unceremonious thunk, it dropped to the floor and cracked open like an overripe fruit. Nidorina was mortified. Her fire was usually strong enough to incinerate a young sapling. Now, a tiny blast of ice had suffocated it in midair.

"Let me explain something," Jaquie said. "The #24 strengthening device which you now wear is built to sap not only your physical strengths, but your special attacks as well-fire, water, ice, electricity, grass, and, to a minor extent, psychic attacks. By wearing this device you strengthen your attacks and focus your energy. It also builds up your defense, which I noticed was lacking."

Nidorina swiped the ground with her claw. Lies. Nidorina knew the real purpose of the strengthening device was to restrain her. She was a prisoner and prisoners were chained.

Nidorina's mind was whirling again. She needed to escape, but Nidorino was too close and next to him was Ryhorn and Dodrio and Slowbro. Worse was the restraining device. Still, there had to be some way, some small opportunity to creep away while Jaquie wasn't looking...

"Now, we are going to have a battle."

It was the most painful, difficult, frustrating battle Nidorina had ever fought. It was by no means fair. Nidorina was restricted, almost powerless against all four of Jaquie's other pokemon. Jaquie didn't even assist her in her struggles, though Nidorina hadn't expected her to. Being thrashed by Jaquie's other slaves was obviously part of her punishment.

But it made Nidorina fight harder. It wasn't just Jaquie she was defying but the whole archaic system of slavery developed by these humans. Every time she wanted to faint from exhaustion, she remembered the heroic struggles of Roanoke, the mythical Venusaur who abolished slavery, and found energy to battle harder. Yet as valiant as her cause was Nidorina's body was grounded firmly in reality and could not handle the stress. She fainted several times, and Jaquie revived her.

"Your energy is commendable," Jaquie told her after reviving her, "but it won't win you the battle. You need to think first and adapt to a situation."

Nidorina bared her teeth and tried to move forward.

Jaquie sighed. "Fine. You'll learn the hard way then. Everyone, attack."

They all attacked her, at once. They tackled her and clawed her and plowed into her. It was all she could do to get them off of her. To attack took every ounce of strength and energy. Every time she tried to charge, the restraining device clung to her and pulled her back. The best she could manage was a jog. She could only attack one pokemon at a time, and when she did, she was easy prey for the other three.

How was she supposed to think? She barely had time to react. And when she did react, it was ineffective because she was so restrained.

Twirls and acrobatics were entirely out of the question, and that upset her because she relied heavily on her dexterity. Her special attacks were too weak to be of consequence. That left her with physical assaults, but those were laborious and they sucked the energy right out of her. There was absolutely no way to win under these conditions.

"Nidorina stop fighting yourself."

That was Jaquie's only advice, and it was utter nonsense. Nidorina wasn't fighting herself; she was fighting the other pokemon. And Jaquie. And this miserable restraining device.

On a more personal level she was fighting Nidorino.

She couldn't explain why her anger towards him was greater than any of Jaquie's other pokemon. Perhaps it was his perfect obedience towards the slave driver. Perhaps it was that aura of intelligence he carried about him as he did his barbaric work, plowing and fencing as though it was almost boring. Perhaps it was the sincere empathy she could see in her eyes. She couldn't understand it. Why would such an intelligent, empathetic pokemon let himself be a slave?

"Nido! Nido! Rinnnna!" she yelled at him whenever he came near. _Traitor! Traitor! You listen to __her__, but fight me!_

"Nidoo, Ni, Riiino," rather defiantly. _I listen to my trainer!_

"Rina, Rina, Rrriiina!" _She's a human! We're both pokemon! She wants to enslave us both! She's trying to break my spirit. Look what she did to me!_

"Rino, Nidorino." _The strengthening device? Oh, please I go through that once a week, and I went through it three times a day during my youth._

_She's already broken your spirit, then._

_She hasn't broken anything! I'm stronger because of it._

_And she's brainwashed you._

_She hasn't._

_Why else would you go against me? We're both pokemon. She's a human. She gives us nothing, no freedom, no choice, nothing! Nothing but orders and pain! If we join together we can take her down and escape! We can be free! Together!_

"Nido, Rino, Rino, Rino," he replied contemptuously. _Save your breath for the battle before Dodrio pecks you again_.

Nidorina saw Dodrio and tried to dodge out of the way. She threw her body to the left. Her left side stung as her body bashed itself against the restraining device. To her right, she felt Dodrio's beak graze her skin.

They all came at her at once. Slowbro's psychic attack. Dodrio's beak. Ryhorn's and Nidorino's horns. They pressed into her, and she felt smothered inside their attack. She was trapped. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't see.

It was like being in a pokeball.

"Nido, Nido!" she yelled. _Get off!_

She used a counter to send their attacks spinning back at them. They all flew away from her.

Normally, she would have attacked. But all she could think about was being inside that pokeball. That cramped, dark pokeball smothered the life out of her, and Nidorina began taking long, heavy breaths. _Let them attack me_, she thought. _Let them use up their energy. I need a rest_.

And while she was recovering, Ryhorn stamped his foot against the earth so that it rumbled beneath her and charged. Nidorina looked at the huge rock creature barreling towards her, and anger flashed in her mind. Right when he was within an inch of her, she put up a barrier and chortled as the creature crashed against the wall and sent itself tumbling backwards.

Just then, Slowbro picked her up in his psychic grip. Nidorina knew there wasn't much time; she could feel Slowbro's energy slowly crushing her mind. Quickly, she inserted a reflect-counter between herself and the psychic pokemon. The remainder of Slowbro's attack was sent spinning back at him, and he curled up and gasped.

Then Dodrio rushed toward her, a tan streak that she saw in time. Nidorina's response was a toxic attack. Thick, purple poison frothed towards the bird pokemon even as he charged into her. She felt the peck of two of the beaks on her skin (the third, by some lucky chance, struck her restraining device and sent it ringing, but did not hurt her), and while it stung, Nidorina quickly counterattacked by using her tail to swing into the legs of Dodrio. The bird tripped and fell to the floor. Already the flush of poison was spreading throughout his body. He made a strange, sick warble and could not get back up.

Nidorina shrilled. She had defeated three pokemon. Only one was left. Nidorino watched her with coolly calculated brown eyes and did not move.

Sensing victory, Nidorina attacked. She was rested now and winning the fight gave her a renewed energy and purpose. Ignoring the steel enframed around her body, she charged.

Jaquie let out a loud sigh.

Nidorino leapt. Right before she hit him, he was up in the air, twirling like a maniac. She shoved her feet into the ground to brake her speed and turned to see where Nidorino landed. He had used a double Team attack while she turned. There were now three Nidorinos standing behind her.

She charged for the one on the left. She flew through nothing, an illusion that vanished like a shadow in the night. She turned and charged for the one in the middle. It too disappeared.

She turned towards the last one-by this time wheezing-but before she could complete her turn he rushed into her. She writhed and tried to bite him, but he propelled himself over her and shoved her again, from the other side. She could see his eyes as he attacked. The empathy had gone and so had the bored expression. A look of discipline and cold ruthlessness had replaced. It startled her, almost frightened her.

He didn't mess around this time, sending one ferocious attack after another spinning into her. She tried to reflect. He twirled around and attacked her again so quickly even her reflect didn't buy her time to think. She tried a reflect-counter, but he reflected that and struck back with a thunderbolt. Poison was useless; he plowed through it, totally immune to its effects.

He was everywhere, twirling, attacking, reflecting. Nothing she tried would stop him. Just like right before she was captured. She remembered the pain anew as she experienced it all over again: stabs of the horn, jolting electricity, kicks, scratches, and tackles that left her bruised all around her side...

"Okay, Nidorino, that's enough."

Nidorina opened her eyes. Nidorino was looking down at her. The empathy had returned. She closed her eyes again. She thought her ribs must be cracked; every time she drew even a shallow breath, her side shuddered in pain. Her face was scratched, and she could feel the gashes in her back, filled with fire and left there to burn. Her mind felt numb and dizzy, and she wondered if the wet stuff dripping down her back was sweat or blood.

"Not bad, for your first day," the hateful human said. Nidorina opened her eyes. Jaquie was towering above her. "But you're still struggling too hard. You're all offense. You need to learn defense, and more importantly, you need to learn to transition. You didn't even attempt any special attacks. Just when you seemed to be learning how to attack without wasting your energy, you reverted back to your old and, at present, ineffective ways." Jaquie shook her head slightly. "But at least your effort was good."

Jaquie held up a pokeball. "Return."

The pokeball. No, no, not again! Not that death-like coma. Not that tomb of nothingness. No!

But she was too weak to resist anymore. She fell into the pokeball and everything went soft and black.

. . .

Jared watched as Jaquie withdrew her remaining pokemon into their separate pokeballs. She smiled at Nidorino fondly. "Good work." She recalled him, then sighed.

Jared had restrained himself throughout most of Jaquie's training, but he couldn't help commenting now. "Are all the pokemon on the island like that Nidorina?"

"No," Jaquie said. "Thank goodness."

"She's strong. I've never seen any pokemon who could withstand a four-on-one attack. While wearing a strengthening device too heavy for her. For a moment there, it looked like she might win."

"But she didn't." Jaquie shook her head. "Not even close."

"Only because of your Nidorino. He was everywhere at once and so precise. He had complete control of the situation, and you never even said a word to him. "

A faint hint of a smile appeared on Jaquie's face. "Yes, he's a good attacker. I've always been especially proud of Nidorino. I've never known a pokemon who's come so far or worked so hard to get there."

It was getting late. Time to get back to headquarters. Jaquie walked slowly, her revolver up, eyes darting through the leaves of the jungle. Jared followed behind. The sun flickered low in the sky like the flame of a dying candle and a cool began to drift over the island. From the south, the wind picked up, blowing with it the smell of the seashore.

"Did you see that attack Nidorina used on Slowbro?" Jared said. "She sent his psychic right back at him. I wonder how she managed that?"

"She's good, that's for certain," Jaquie admitted. "But she's too stubborn."

Jared thought about the way Nidorina glared at Jaquie and clawed the ground. "Stubborn isn't the word," he said. "Defiant is."

Jaquie nodded.

"She's going to create problems, you know. Defiant pokemon always do."

Jaquie shrugged.

"Why didn't you use amnesia serum?"

"Giovanni uses amnesia serum," Jaquie said, and Jared was surprised at the coldness in her voice. "He likes to see pokemon reduced to mindless slaves. I do not. I find it self-defeating. Pokemon who are capable of independent action are valuable fighters. Look at Nidorino."

"The difference between Nidorino and Nidorina is that Nidorino is loyal to you, whereas Nidorina-and I don't mean to hurt your feelings-but she kind of hates you."

"I know that."

Streaks of cobalt licked the edges of orange sunbeams sinking into the west. Further from the sun, the blue of the sky deepened to black. The dark made Jared squint. He wiped his glasses on a sleeve of his shirt.

"I think you're too tough on her," he said. "I think she has the idea she's being punished and that's making her even more rebellious."

"I need to be tough on them so that they learn. I'm trying to make her stronger. Perhaps my methods aren't likable, but they work."

"They work all the time? You've never been so tough on a pokemon that you've actually made it worse?"

Jaquie stopped. They had reached the headquarters. She could see the last of the orange blink across the glass of the invisible wall. The black had almost completely taken over and stars were spilled across the sky.

"Once," Jaquie said. "For a little while."

She put her hand to the invisible wall and began feeling for the small break that made up the entrance.

"My Dodrio didn't take training very well. After long sessions it could barely walk, let alone run." Her hand hit air and Jaquie turned to Jared, gesturing she had found the entrance. "Now my Dodrio can fly. Some pokemon are like that. They're weak for extended periods of time, and then one day they suddenly bloom."

There was a rustling in the trees on their right, and two figures came stumbling into view. "We're here!" panted Jesse and James, "Are we late?"

Jaquie glanced at the flashing numbers on her digital watch. "You're on time," she reassured them. "It is now six o'clock."

Jesse and James sighed and found their way into the headquarters.

"Well, I still think," Jared said, groping for the doorway in the dark, "that you aren't going to make any friends that way."

"I'm not trying to make friends. I'm used to being hated, and it doesn't make a difference to me so long as my students learn."

"That's not my point." Jared finally found the entrance and made his way in. "What's to stop her from attacking you with her newfound strength? She may even try to turn your pokemon against you. And just because she's not strong enough-yet-hate is a powerful motivator and I'm willing to bet that Nidorina won't give up anytime soon."

"Hi Jaquie, Jared." Kris and Karen emerged from the deepening shadows of the building, soaked in the last rays of orange light.

"Are you coming in for dinner?" Jaquie asked.

They nodded and walked into the house.

"So what would you suggest I do?" Jaquie asked.

Jared opened his mouth, but no answer came.


	21. Chapter 19: Thoughts in the Quiet Night

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 19

**Thoughts in the Quiet Night**

. . .

. . .

It was Jesse and James' responsibility to make dinner. That was the price they paid for Jaquie's protection-that they were servants to all. Fortunately, dinner was nothing difficult. Most of the food was canned or preserved; all Jesse and James had to do was open a can or a package and heat it on the portable stove. Tonight Jesse decided on ramen.

"But we're out of water," James pointed out.

"Well, go out and get some," Jesse retorted.

James lugged the bucket out of the headquarters and walked towards the well. "I liked it better at Mountaintop City," he grumbled.

When the Alakazam called Zeroun first told them they'd be diplomats, James didn't know what to think. Mostly, he was confused. How was he supposed to be a diplomat? What was he supposed to do?

Zeroun shrugged off James' concerns. _We have no real formalities when talking with our leaders. Just be polite and respectful and you'll do fine._

They'd been milling around in a pretty, light-colored room filled with furniture far too large for humans. "Gadara's study," Zeroun called it. When James looked out the windows, he could see an entire city with bright little houses and trees bursting up in rows and pokemon roaming between them.

Instinctively, James wondered how he could capture them to bring them to their boss. But Giovanni no longer employed them, and besides, these were the pokemon that even Jaquie had trouble capturing.

"This here's Mountaintop City." Meowth puffed up his chest and a wide grin spread across his feline face. "That's where my mother used to live."

"Your mother?" James and Jesse both asked him at once.

He nodded, with that same wide, happy smile. "_My_ mother."

As Meowth yakked about the city, James continued looking around the room. It had an authoritative look to it: massive bookshelves, a stately desk, paintings of wise-looking pokemon, important framed documents. There was only one thing missing-the leader.

"So, where is this pokemon we're supposed to meet?" Jesse asked, interrupting Meowth's yarn. "What's-his-name-Gadara?"

_Her_, Zeroun corrected. _She had another meeting this morning. Perhaps she's being detained. In the meantime, I'm supposed to see to your entertainment._

"I wanna take them on a tour of the city," Meowth said. "I wanna show them where my mother used to live."

Zeroun thought for a moment. _I don't supposed it would do any harm_.

James realized he'd come to the well and was just staring blankly into it. The dark water reflected the glowing crescent moon. James dipped in the bucket and heaved it up, sloshing water on himself as he did. He dragged it inside.

Everyone else was relaxing. Karen was lying on the floor with her head in her hands, staring intently at the wall. Beside her, Kris played solitaire with an ear-worn deck of cards. Jared read, and Jaquie reloaded weapons as the healing machine beeped. Jesse had just set the table.

"About time," she said.

James poured the water in a pot and set it on the stove to boil. Jesse sliced up some of the apples Zeroun had picked earlier. Before long dinner was ready. The lamps gave the room a glow as everyone sat down to eat. James looked at the table. It was a crate. So were the chairs. The silverware were plastic, the cups Styrofoam, the plates paper. He sighed.

Things were different at Mountaintop City. Everything was so clean and nice. The pokemon were polite towards them, even if they did stare at first as he and Jesse toured the street. They spent that morning strolling parks and shopping centers, with no sign of Gadara, and Zeroun sent them home for lunch, lest Jaquie get suspicious. It was only after they returned in the afternoon that James and Jesse finally got to meet the leader of Mountaintop City.

James hadn't known what to expect. Gadara turned out to be a large, powerfully-built Kangaskhan. Muscles rippled under her rough cream-colored skin and wrinkles circled her wise brown eyes. She was, at first glance, very intimidating, but when she spoke her voice was as warm and inviting as newly baked bread.

"Welcome, humans. I am Gadara, the mayor of this city." She bent down and lowered herself so that she was at their level. "James, is it?" she said, looking him in the eye. "And Jesse?" she added, shifting her gaze.

She shook both their hands in true human fashion.

"I apologize for my tardiness, but the decision-Senate-my meeting-took longer than expected." She sighed, a little wearily, then quickly smiled again. "I suppose you all want to know what you're doing here?"

"Well, yes," said James

"Zeroun said we would be diplomats," Jesse said, in the sharp tone she used when playing an intrepid reporter. "But you attacked us first. Why?"

Gadara didn't blink. "I'm afraid that there have been some misunderstandings. You seem, relations between humans and pokemon on this island are currently very rocky. That's why I brought you here. I'm hoping to better relationship between our two peoples."

The Kangaskhan swung into one of the cushiony arm chairs. "Would you like to have a seat?"

Jesse crossed her arms. "James and I once rigged a trap chair. Any person who sat on it would get captured inside a net."

"Jesse!" Meowth yelped. "I told you we could trust her."

Zeroun and Gadara exchanged quizzical looks. "Why would I do that?" Gadara asked.

"To hold us ransom so Jaquie will come get us. But it won't work," Jesse sat down. "Jaquie can defeat any trap you try to spring on her."

"This isn't a trap," Gadara assured her. "In fact, while you're diplomats I promise you won't be attacked, within these city walls or without."

Jesse shrugged, looking not quite convinced. "Will the pokemon listen to you?"

"Of course," Gadara said. She looked at Jesse. "Can I get a promise out of you to do the same? To not harm my citizens?"

Meowth promised first, and James quickly followed, forgetting his earlier thought. Jesse grudgingly promised not to hurt any of Gadara's pokemon.

"But I'm not the one you have to worry about," she added.

"You mentioned someone named Jaquie," Gadara said. "Is she your leader?"

"And Jesse's sister," James put in.

Gadara started. "Her _sister_?"

"Not that she cares about me," Jesse muttered.

"What's she like?"

"She's horrible," said Jesse, warming up to the subject. "She's really smart and never loses a battle, but that doesn't mean she's nice to me. Everything I do is wrong."

The pot of water was starting to boil over. James quickly turned off the heat, stirred in the noodles and flavoring, and called everyone for dinner. When they all sat down, the pot got passed from Jaquie to Karen to Kris to Jesse to Jared-with James getting mostly broth and a few stray noodles. He sighed and picked up a piece of the apple Jesse had cut.

For most of the afternoon, Jesse eagerly dished on her sister's good and bad qualities, while Gadara listened, sometimes nodding, occasionally looking shocked. Jesse seemed to be having a good time. James and Meowth added a few other details when they could. In this way, the hours slipped away, and James suddenly remembered the curfew.

"We have to go," James said. "Jaquie expects us back."

Gadara nodded. "I'm sorry we didn't get to talk about my civilization more. Perhaps tomorrow..."

"That's okay," James said. "Meowth showed us your city." And then, because he wanted to say something polite, he added, "It's really beautiful."

"He-he showed you the city?" Gadara's eyes tilted towards Zeroun, and her expression was not pleasant.

_That is correc_t, Zeroun replied calmly. _In the interest of maintaining friendly relations_, he paused, _I thought a tour was best_.

Gadara didn't have time to say anything else, because it was perilously close to curfew. Zeroun teleported Jesse and James back at exactly six. They left Meowth behind. Gadara said she didn't want a meeting with Jaquie _just_ yet. And she didn't want Jaquie to know until then. James wondered about that, but he didn't mind too much. He hoped to see more of the city.

Tomorrow he wouldn't forget his video camera...

"So," Jaquie's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Jesse, James, do you mind explaining where you were this afternoon?"

James startled. "What?"

"We were right here, of course," Jesse said with a nervous giggle. "What makes you think you were anywhere else?"

"Jared said otherwise," Jaquie said.

"I saw you two go out to search for Meowth." Jared shrugged.

"Search for Meowth...?" James began.

"Well, of course that's what we were doing!" Jesse practically shouted. "What else would we be doing?"

"So where were you?" Jaquie asked again. "And this time don't lie."

"We were out..." Jesse glanced at James.

"Out... looking for Meowth," he summed.

Jaquie rolled her eyes. "But _where_ were you out?" she pressed.

"What does it matter to you?" Jesse snapped. "We came back in one piece didn't we. Doesn't that prove we can take care of ourselves."

"Fine," Jaquie said.

Just that one word. Nothing else. If she was surprised by Jesse's outburst, she didn't show it. But then, James reflected, she never showed anything. Not like Jesse. He glanced at her. She seemed surprised-whether at her own audacity or at the fact that Jaquie actually conceded her point, James couldn't tell.

In the heat of the moment, James' instinct had been to conceal the truth, but afterwards, he wondered if that was the right choice. While he and Jesse cleared off the table and threw away the trash, he asked her.

"Do you think we should tell Jaquie?"

"Tell her what?"

"Tell her about Mountaintop City and Gadara and-"

"No!" Jesse exclaimed at once. "We already promised Gadara we'd keep it a secret. And it really is none of her business, anyway."

"You said it could be a trap," James pointed out.

"Even if it is, Jaquie could get out of it. It's not like she ever loses. I don't think she's even capable of losing." Under her breath, she muttered, "I almost wish she was."

"You want her to lose?" asked James incredulously.

"Then she'd know what it feels like to be beaten down all the time. To be like me. I wish just once I could be the one to win, to rescue her, instead of the other way around."

"Jesse..."

"And maybe I can," she said, her words coming quicker now. "Maybe if I'm a diplomat to these pokemon, I can solve the problems she can't." Jesse's eyes shone. "I could do something worthwhile."

**. . .**

Part of her wanted to go up to Jaquie and scream, "I know something you don't!" Just yell at her sister at the top of her lungs. "Remember that city you said it was impossible to enter-I got into it! I took a tour down the main street. I'm not so worthless now! Maybe now you'll act as though my existence is worth noting! Maybe now you can act like my big sister again!"

But Jesse couldn't say it. Not yet.

When left the city that evening, Gadara asked Jesse and James if they would return in order to continuing diplomatic relations.

"Us?" Jesse had asked. "Wouldn't you prefer Jaquie?"

Gadara shook her head. "No. We'd much rather have you and James visit us again."

It startled Jesse. No one ever chose Jesse over Jaquie, no matter how mean, uncaring, and cold her sister could be. Being wanted made Jesse feel warm inside. Was it pride she felt? Whatever it was, it felt good.

"By the way, don't tell Jaquie about these little meetings of ours," Gadara added casually. "We're sure to meet with her eventually. But until we decide how to do so, it's best to keep quiet about these things.

Jesse agreed-promised even. She had no intention of telling Jaquie.

Because as long as she was a diplomat, she could be a person of importance. And as long as Jesse kept this secret, she had power that Jaquie didn't have. It was like having a chance to start anew, to prove that she could be every bit as good as her sister.

And this time, she wasn't going to screw it up.

. . .

Gadara's mind was not at ease that evening. Nothing had gone very well today-not her meeting with the other four city-states in the morning-not her conversation with the humans in the afternoon.

Zeroun slipped into Gadara's study.

"How's Meowth?" she asked laconically.

_Chloe took him to a play_, he replied.

Gadara nodded.

_Are you still angry with me_?

"Yes. I gave you implicit instructions not to let the humans walk about the city."

_I didn't see what harm it could do_.

"The civilians will see them." Gadara spoke quickly, angrily, but hurried to calm herself. "They'll know the humans are here. Soon the other city-states will learn the humans have settled on our land."

_What difference will that make_? Zeroun asked._ They already know. You told them in the decision-Senate_.

Gadara said nothing.

_You didn't tell them in the decision-Senate_?

"How could I? If the other city-states found out, the leaders would try to contact Jaquie. They would make some sort of peace treaty with the humans that would end up enslaving us all. I can't let that happen. I'm not going to let the humans destroy this island."

_Gadara, they have as much right to decide how to protect us as you_.

"They'll decide wrong."

_You don't know that_-

"Yes, I do!" Gadara insisted. "I know! I know what humans are really like. You should have heard the other leaders speak, as though humans coming to the island were some sort of blessing! How can they decide right if they don't even know the truth?"

_How can they know the truth if you don't tell them_?

Gadara looked down. Zeroun already knew her shame. "I can't tell them."

_It was an accident_, Zeroun soothed._ You only violated the Alliance Obligation because you were young and you panicked_.

"And now I break it many times, on purpose."

She looked away from Zeroun towards a window. The window faced South, towards the jungle, towards the sea. Towards the past. She had made her choice then, and much as it pained her, she would violate whatever treaties she needed to keep her people safe.

_You could stop_.

Gadara sighed. "They'll vote against me Zeroun."

There were four other mayors on this island of New Pax, and all of them had a vote. It didn't matter Mountaintop City was the largest, comprising the entire southern half of the island, with a third of the total population of pokemon. All the mayors votes were equal in the decision-Senate. And once the majority ruled, those who disagreed would have to quietly go along with the decision. That was the core of the Alliance Obligation-unity among the city-states above selfish quarrels.

There were other adjuncts as well. For example, any decision that involved the entire island _had_ to be shared in the Senate before action could be taken. The leaders must report all facts honestly, without deception or omission. The humans who wrote the document had wanted a long-lasting alliance between the city-states, strengthened by trust, cooperation, and harmony.

_So what did you tell the other mayors_? Zeroun asked.

Gadara hesitated, unwilling to look him in the eye. "I admitted that the humans were probably in my city-state. We just couldn't find them."

_A lie_.

"I tried not to think of it that way. The humans are always moving about the island. And until this afternoon, I have never formally contacted with them."

_It's a sloppy excuse. The others will be suspicious_.

"It was the best I could come up with," Gadara said, a bit defensively. "I told the other city-states that we could all search our own territory."

_So that they'll stay away from your own city-state, where you know the humans are hidden_.

"You read my mind," Gadara commented dryly. "Yes. I need to stall the other city-states from exploration until I can contact Jaquie myself and discover if and how peace is possible."

_You may lie to the other city-states, but please, don't lie to me. You have already made up your mind and peace-at least the kind of peace they mean-is not an option._

He was right, of course. Zeroun knew her too well.

From the mountain that gave the city its name, the highest mountain in New Pax, Gadara's psychic pokemon controlled the weather. They moved clouds to create a barrier of storms around the island. This was usually enough to deter humans. But if a ship did get through, it would have to land in the south. Surrounding the northern waters, arched like a rainbow, was an insurmountable labyrinth of jagged rocks.

Once humans stepped foot on Gadara's beaches, her spies would signal for a small army to attack. Gadara didn't want to injure the humans. Her armies-usually ten talented pokemon-would simply capture them and bring them back to Mountaintop City, where the psychic pokemon would erase the part of the humans' memories pertaining to the island. Then Gadara would send them peacefully on their way.

The other city-states didn't know this.

"My methods work," Gadara insisted. "I just to defeat this Jaquie, and everything will go back to normal. That should be easy, now that I have Jesse and James providing me with information."

_Did any of things Jesse say today help?_

"Not yet."

Gadara had yet to find anything that could be a weakness in Jaquie. She _had_ learned that Jaquie managed to cause her own crime wave when she was a young teenager, that she was promoted to second-in-command by her eighteenth birthday, and that, as far as Jesse could recall, Jaquie had never once known her to be defeated. And Jesse ought to know. She was Jaquie's younger sister.

That last piece of information shocked Gadara the most. What kind of person would exploit her own sister like this? Inundating her into criminal activity. It was disgusting.

_I don't know how reliable Jesse is_, Zeroun put in. _She's prone to exaggeration_.

"Jaquie's actions are no exaggeration. Her team has defeated my best. Jesse only confirms what I already know-that we are dealing with someone completely void of emotions or morals. Jaquie is a monster."

That's a bit harsh, _Gadara_.

"She stole Leah."

Leah was a Nidorina. She graduated from the South Point Battle School at the top of her class, one of Gadara's most zealous pupils. Although she could dedicated her life to the battle sport, Leah had chosen instead to be a teacher of a rambunctious group of Nidorans.

And now she was a slave.

"I won't forgive her."

_Well, what are you going to do, now that Jesse and James have seen the city_?

"I'm not sure. This complicates the situation." She glared at Zeroun. "_You've_ complicated the situation."

_I'm not the one who lied to the decision-Senate_.

That stung. "I'm sorry that I'm not a better leader," she said softly. "And I'm sorry I can't protect my people and follow the rules at the same time." She looked at her advisor. "You know that you are free to tell the other city-states of my violations if you really believe that my choices are wrong. I couldn't stop you."

_I don't agree with your attitude towards humans. You're too hostile_. Zeroun sighed. _But... neither do I agree with them. These are not the kind of humans to make peace with. We need to find out more about them, especially their leader Jaquie_.

"Yes." Gadara closed her eyes. Jaquie was the key.

If only they could figure out how to beat her.


	22. Chapter 20: Morning Rituals

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 20

**Morning Rituals**

. . .

. . .

It was not yet six and still dark. A faded sort of dark, as though the luxuriant black varnish of night had been rubbed away by the approaching light. Most of the world still lay cocooned in peaceful slumber. But not Jaquie. She waiting for her water to boil, quietly. Silence came naturally to her, and she didn't want to wake anyone up.

As her kettle began to shriek, she took it off the stove and mixed in her instant coffee. Cup in hand, Jaquie maneuvered over Jared's trip wire alarm, past Kris' traps, and out through the barrier.

It was cool outside. Despite the rising sun, the air was still crisp and Jaquie shivered. She took a sip of her coffee. The bitter liquid scalded her mouth, but she didn't mind. There was something comfortingly familiar, almost soothing about the pain, and anyway it kept her warm. One by one, Jaquie dropped her pokeballs to the ground, Nidorino first and her new Nidorina last.

Nidorina sprang out of her pokeball at once. She flexed her tail and tried walking around, limping first, then quickly striding around the field. She looked confused. Maybe Nidorina hadn't expected to be healed.

Jaquie had her other four pokemon in waiting. If Nidorina was smart, and Jaquie had no doubt that she was, she should have adapted her strategy to deal with the simultaneous attacks. That meant more reflects and counters. Jaquie had warned her pokemon be cautious.

Even so, Nidorina's first move took Jaquie entirely off guard. The poison pin pokemon let out a strange and wild and shriek. Suddenly there were two Nidorinas-the real one, still enchained in the strengthening device, and a smaller one whose back was bare. Before Jaquie's pokemon could react, both Nidorinas started shooting poison spikes at the first pokemon that moved.

Who, luckily, turned out to be Nidorino. The spikes drove into his right shoulder-Jaquie flinched at the sight of the five-inch barbs-but Nidorino ignored the pain. He shot a hyper beam, propelling both Nidorinas far into the fores-too far, Jaquie noted, for her to poison anyone else. Only then did Nidorino snap the spikes out of his shoulder with his teeth.

The sheer audacity of Nidorina's attack took Jaquie by surprise. Nidorina was hopelessly outnumbered, yet she refused to go defensive. Yet this was no reckless charge, either. By doubling herself, Nidorina had evened the odds and the poison halted the attack of everyone but Nidorino. A good strategy, overall. But it wouldn't work.

"Dodrio, into the air," Jaquie said, breaking from her usual silence. "Ryhorn, dig. Slowbro, teleport. All of you stay away from the poison until you're in position to attack. Do it quick, and by surprise."

First thing first, she'd eliminate the fake Nidorina, the weaker of the two. Jaquie caught Nidorino's eye and pointed indiscreetly at the real Nidorina; Nidorino understood and fell upon the enchained Nidorina like a thunderstorm. While the real Nidorina was distracted, Jaquie instructed her remaining pokemon to emerge from safety and attack.

In quick succession, Slowbro paralyzed the fake Nidorina with a psychic attack, Ryhorn plowed into her with a horn attack, and Dodrio drilled her with a peck. That was all it took. With a extremely disturbing cry, the double disappeared.

Now all Jaquie's pokemon could focus on the real Nidorina. This was harder due to Nidorina's ultimate weapon: poison. It meant that, with the exception of Nidorino, Jaquie's pokemon were constantly hiding, attacking only when Nidorino served as a screen to absorb the poison.

Plus, Nidorina was getting used to her strengthening device.

For some strange reason, she still kept as active as ever, as though it wasn't in her blood to simply sit still. But Nidorina did slow down a bit, saving all her energy for a few quick, sudden turns. Sometimes, she deflected blows off the metal, using the strengthening device as a shield. The few times she got tired, she did start using reflects and counters. She was a quick learner, Jaquie noted. Tough.

But eventually her poison ran out, and then Jaquie's pokemon pounced on her. Good as Nidorina was, she couldn't win a coordinated four-on one-match. By the time Nidorina submitted in a helpless heap, the sun had risen considerably in the sky. It poured warmth into the forest. Jaquie drained the last of her coffee.

"That was much better," she told Nidorina. "Although you still attack too much. Offense isn't always a substitute for a good defense, and you only fall back on reflects when you exhaust every other option. That's bad planning. Still, you adapted quickly and persevered to the end. I'm impressed." Jaquie held up her pokeball. "Good job. Return."

"Isn't it a little early to be training?" said a voice behind her.

Jaquie turned. "Why is it that every time I turn around I find you behind me?"

Jared rubbed his eyes. "Well, normally it's because I don't have a partner to bug. But in this particular case-" He yawned widely. "-In this case, I've been sent to deliver a message."

"And what message would that be?"

"Next time you plan to battle at an impossibly early hour, could you be a little quieter? Oh, and breakfast is ready."

"You mean you heard the battle?" Jaquie asked, disappointed.

"Not me. Karen. She came storming out of bed at half past six saying, 'If I can't sleep, no one else will either.' Then, she ordered Jesse and James to make breakfast." He shook his head. "Karen's not exactly a morning person, from what I've observed.""

"I guess I'd better practice farther from the barrier, then," Jaquie said. "Otherwise you might not survive the week."

Karen _was_ in a bad mood though. She had her arms crossed and glared at Jesse and James as they scooped eggs out of a frying pan. She looked ready to strangle someone.

Namely Kris, who, in contrast, was practically singing.

"Good Jaquie. Hey traitor," he called out in a loud, boisterous voice. "How was the training? How was the backstabbing?"

Karen swallowed her irritability long enough to murmur a respectful, if barely audible, "Good morning" to Jaquie.

"Would you like some breakfast?" James asked. "We have eggs and untoasted toast and coffee."

"Just coffee and bread, thanks," said Jaquie. "No eggs."

James placed a large platter of food on the largest crate while Jesse set out the cream and sugar. They all sat down at their makeshift table. Jaquie doled out the coffee evenly and took a piece of bread.

"Let's eat."

Chaos ensued.

Jesse and James shoved each other to get the cream, but Kris grabbed it first and dumped most of it into his coffee. Then, he snatched the pot of sugar right out of Jared's hands. Jesse seized the discarded cream triumphantly, leaving poor James to make do with what little remained.

Ignoring the coffee struggles entirely, Karen scooped up some eggs, and passed the platter to Kris, who gave himself a large portion. Jesse and James split the rest, a spoonful each. Jared sighed. He took a piece of bread and nibbled the edge.

Jaquie stirred her coffee slowly, letting the steam form into swirls.

Jesse and James were up to something, she thought. They whispered furtively together as they ate, at least until Karen told them the eggs needed more pepper. Then, Jesse glanced pointedly at James; he sighed and got up.

Jared tried to start a conversation about the weather. When no one answered, he took a sip of his coffee, made a face, and added more sugar. Kris reminisced cheerfully, to no one in particular, about breakfast on the road. Karen point blank refused to look at him. She was grumpily spearing her eggs with a fork.

Not so different from any other morning. Still, something seemed off. Jaquie felt a flicker of doubt. She shook it off. Probably nothing. She tapped the excess liquid off her spoon.

"Jared," she said.

"Yes?" He leaned forward eagerly.

"This morning, instead of making pokeballs, do you think you could replicate more antidote?"

"Oh." His face fell. "Yeah sure. I'll just need more poison samples."

"I'll get them for you." Jaquie then turned to her sister. "Jesse, you and James will preserve the fruit you picked yesterday. You will also do maintenance on the traps Kris set."

Jesse grumbled something under her breath. "Fine."

"Karen and Kris, I assume you won't have a problem coming with me to observe and collect pokemon."

"No," Karen said.

"Actually," Kris put in, "I do have a problem with that."

"What?" Jaquie asked.

"_What_?" Karen growled.

"I think Karen and I should try catching pokemon without your help."

"Why?" Jaquie said neutrally.

"Well, because when we're with you, all we do is watch the pokemon and that gets kind of boring..."

"Kris," Karen hissed.

"What? It does."

"Yes, it does," Jaquie acknowledged. "But that's part of the job."

"Yeah, but see the reason it gets boring is because you do all the work. You observe the pokemon, you tell us which one we're going to capture and how. All we really have to do is throw pokeballs. That's not the most productive use of our time. We could capture a lot more pokemon if we were on our own-you know, like how Team Rocket's supposed to work."

Jaquie fought the temptation to smile. The irony was that this was the exact same argument she'd used on Giovanni to convince him to create the model of Team Rocket that Karen and Kris were used to.

"No," Jaquie said.

A look of frustration crossed Kris' face. "Why not?"

"Because this way I can keep track of you. I don't have to worry coming to your rescue."

"Karen and I can survive on our own for one measly morning."

"In _this_ environment."

"One time we messed up." Kris pounded on the table with a fist. "That doesn't mean we'll do it again. We've successfully defended the headquarters against an abush. While Karen was sick, I might add. We're part of this expedition. Have some faith in our abilities."

Actually, Jaquie did have faith in their skills-and that was the problem. Jaquie intended to take over Team Rocket as soon as she got off the island, possibly as soon as she stepped onto the boat. She rather doubted Karen and Kris would support her in this venture, and there was no point in arming future rivals. Therefore, letting them capture pokemon was completely out of the question.

"No, Kris."

For a moment, his eyes blazed. Then, quite suddenly, Kris uncurled his fist.

"You can't protect us all our lives," he said calmly, almost syrupy. "We've grown up, Jaquie. We can handle the responsibility."

"Responsibility?"

Jaquie glanced at Karen. The blonde girl had buried her head in her hands, silently shaking her head, _no, no_.

"What's going on Kris?" Jaquie asked. "Since when do you care about responsibility?"

"I'm just saying that we can take care of ourselves." He looked at his partner, expectantly. "Don't you think so, Karen?"

"You know what I think?" Karen snapped. "I think you should just shut your mouth, Kris, and follow orders. She already told us no!"

Kris was taken aback. "But-"

"Just shut up! Shut up, shut up! I am sick of listening to you talk!"

Kris put up both palms in a gesture of surrender. Everyone else stared at Karen, who went back to looking at the table, hiding her face in her hands.

"Are you okay?" Jaquie said.

"Yes." Karen in a pale whisper of her normal voice. "I'm just a little angry with my partner right now."

It was a small hitch in what would have otherwise been a normal morning.

According to her schedule, Jaquie took Karen and Kris to observe pokemon. They hid in the bushes, just as they had done before, and Jaquie took notes. It was important to figure out not only which pokemon to capture, but how she would go about capturing it, andthat meant she needed to know its strengths, its weaknesses, and its peculiarities.

But Kris was right; it did get boring sitting in the scratchy bushes underneath the sticky jungle heat, watching pokemon eat and sleep in hopes they'd do something new. The waiting probably killed Kris. She glanced at him. At least he had prepared this time. He was listening to his C.D. player, humming slightly, and reading a magazine.

It was such a waste. Giovanni should have just let her go to the island by herself.

They left without capturing a single pokemon and came back to find that Jesse and James had made a thick applesauce from and Jared had created six vials of antidote. After lunch, Jaquie gave them all free time, slipped the antidotes in her pocket, and went outside to practice again.

. . .

"You're just in time, Jared. I was just about to start the battle."

He stopped. "You don't mind if I watch?"

"No, I'm getting used to an audience."

Jared sat down on a log. Funny, how out of all the people here, it was Jaquie who included him the most. He felt grateful for that.

The moment Nidorina came out of a pokeball, Nidorino charged at her. She reflected and let out a double team attack. Twenty Nidorinas materialized and all of them began spraying poison everywhere. Jared flinched.

"That's pretty good," he said nervously.

Jaquie gave a satisfied nod. "It's very good. The double team acts as a defensive strategy while the poison acts an attack."

"Aren't you trying to teach her not to attack?"

"I'm trying to teach her defense. It seems that she can't not attack, but at least now she's working on defense as well."

Nidorino led the other pokemon in an attack against the false Nidorinas. As they crashed into one illusion after another, the copies disappeared. But in the process Slowbro ended up poisoned.

"Jared, that liquid revolver you invented, can I shoot antidote with it?"

"Sure, you can shoot any liquid."

Jaquie loaded the revolver and fired the antidote. The poison flush immediately left her pokemon's face.

"You have good aim," Jared noted.

"Thank you."

Now only one Nidorina remained, and Jaquie's pokemon charged her all at once. She countered their moves. Dodrio tried to attack from behind; she swung her tail into him and turned just in time to scratch at Slowbro, who was trying to use a water gun. Using mimic, she learned Slowbro's attack and spit water at Ryhorn. From the tip of her tail, she aimed a fireball at Nidorino. It caught him in the neck.

"Nidorino, are you all right?" Jaquie called. He was soon up on his feet again. "This is getting too easy for her. You can start giving her a hard time now."

Nidorino began to twirl and jump at a terrific speed. He got in her face, barely giving her room to breathe. She pushed him away with a counter. He recuperated and attacked again.

"Are you ever going to give Nidorina any instructions?" Jared asked Jaquie.

"I want my pokemon to learn how to think for themselves. She who instructs least, instructs best. That's what I believe."

"Unless of course the pokemon doesn't know what its doing." Jared winced as Nidorino began synchronizing attacks with the other pokemon, so that Nidorina was hit with one blow after another.

"Nidorina knows. See."

Nidorina tackled Slowbro, throwing off the pattern of attacks. As she used the added weight of the strengthening device to crush her opponent, Slowbro moaned.

"Ryhorn, help him," Jaquie said.

Nidorina threw herself out of the way of Ryhorn's charge. She continued using defensive attacks. Then, all of a sudden, she doubled herself again.

"Jared, do you have any idea what that attack is?" Jaquie asked him.

"It looks like an uncharacteristically weak double team attack to me."

The second Nidorina began fencing with Ryhorn.

"Okay, I take it back. It's not double team. Oh, wait, I know." He snapped his fingers. "She's using substitute. It's an attack where the pokemon creates a clone who blocks for it." Jared watched Nidorina double kick Ryhorn and then reflect Slowbro's ice beam. "Well, usually it just blocks."

"Oh, that's what it is," Jaquie said. "I wondered."

The two Nidorinas began a ferocious assault on Jaquie's pokemon.

"You have to admit, she's a fast learner," Jaquie commented appreciatively. "She's already figured out how to adapt to the strengthening device. Whatsmore she's figured out how to succeed in four-on-one battle in a way I never would have thought. She's using her defense to weaken her opponents and keeping up her energy until she can launch an attack. That's a good strategy."

An ice beam came perilously close to Jared's leg. Nidorino shoved Nidorina hard.

"Jaquie you do realize that Nidorina still doesn't like you," Jared said in a worried tone. "If she wins she might choose to attack you or at the very least run away. And right now, she's winning."

"She's only winning because she's using strategy and special attacks, and my pokemon are not. Yet."

Jaquie suddenly stood. "I want all of you to go after the clone. Destroy it, no matter what the cost."

"But what about the real Nidorina?" Jared asked.

The real Nidorina tried to save her clone. It didn't work. The four pokemon crushed the clone in about two seconds, although sustaining heavy damage.

"Good," said Jaquie. "Now Ryhorn, Dodrio use rest. Nidorino, keep Nidorina busy." The ground and the flying pokemon both went to sleep, restoring their health. "Slowbro, use a light water gun to wake them up."

Once Ryhorn and Dodrio were awake, Jaquie had Dodrio fly into the air and Ryhorn nestle underground where they would be safe. Then Slowbro went to sleep and Dodrio used a mirror move to spray a water gun on Slowbro to wake him up.

"Now," said Jaquie, "Nidorino, rest. The rest of you defend him." She said this tensely; this was the most dangerous part of her strategy.

Nidorina took advantage of Jaquie's best pokemon being out of the fight. As soon as Nidorino was asleep, she used another double team and tried to run away. She was half way into the forest, before Nidorino woke up.

The first thing he did was have Slowbro teleport him into the forest. Then he used a fury attack. A barrage of spikes flew in all directions. Four hit Nidorinas. They all disappeared. He tried again. Two spikes hit illusions. Before the third spike could hit, Nidorina turned and deflected it off her strengthening device.

Nidorino had his target. He leapt into the tall trees.

Nidorina kept running. Looking behind her, she couldn't see any pokemon chasing her. She began to think she might escape.

Then Nidorino leapt from the trees and struck her. She cried out and countered. He was already gone. She got up. Suddenly he was on her again, from the bushes this time. She closed her eyes and bit. He was gone again. Quickly she attacked all the bushes in sight. They rustled. She tried to move on again. Nidorino jumped from the trees onto her.

She struggled, and, in a burst of anger, let out a hyper beam. It was a cruel thing to do at such a close range, and Nidorino was hit hard. The power of the blast sent him spinning through the trees; he fell into the trunk of one and hit the dirt. He didn't move.

Panting now and bleeding, Nidorina tried once more to run away. But she had forgotten the other pokemon.

They sprang at her from all directions. The ground, the sky, the middle of nowhere. None of them were as stealthy or effective as Nidorino. They didn't need to be. He had effectively weakened her; the other three pokemon needed no finesse, only brute strength, to overwhelm her.

She sank into the ground and surrendered, crying her frustrations at coming so close to freedom only to remain enslaved.

Jaquie ran up to her Nidorino and began applying potion immediately. "Are you okay? Where does it hurt?" He lifted his head and nuzzled her hand to show that he was all right. She smiled. "You're tough, aren't you? You fought very well. I'm proud of you." She recalled him into his pokeball.

"As for you," she turned to Nidorina.

Nidorina braced herself for some kind of punishment. Instead, Jaquie crossed her arms and tilted her head quizzically.

"How can I persuade you not to run away from me? Because you are, without a doubt, one of the best fighters I have ever seen. Strong attack, fair defense, diverse moves. You thought of a strategy that very nearly won you a battle in which you were hopelessly outnumbered. And you figured it out in only two days. I am very impressed."

Nidorina moaned.

"You need medical attention. Return. Good job everybody," she said as she recalled the rest of her pokemon into their pokeballs.

"What happened?" Jared ran into the forest. "Did she get away?"

"No, I've still got her." Jaquie showed him her pokeball. "But we should walk quickly to the headquarters. Nidorino's badly injured."

"That was a close one," Jared said. "I thought she was gone for sure."

"She very nearly was."

"So what went wrong?"

"Nothing. Her strategy was perfect. She was just overpowered. Out-numbered, out-gunned and out-smarted. It happens."

"Not to you though?" Jared smiled.

"Not when I'm training, no." Jaquie smiled back. "Never to me."

. . .

"Hey, Karen," Kris said casually, "about this morning-"

"You shouldn't have kept arguing with her," Karen burst out defensively. "You were making her suspicious. I had to stop you." The next words flowed out of her before she even realized what she was saying. "And besides, what was that little responsibility speech about anyway? Were you trying to remind me of why we're rebelling against Jaquie, because there was no need-"

"About this morning," said Kris again, "you seemed a little tired."

"Oh." That stopped her tirade of nonsense. Karen shook her head. "Yes, I was very tired," she admitted with a sigh. It had to be the lack of sleep. It was causing her to act strangely today.

She felt him place his hand gently on her shoulder. "Hey, are you all right?" Kris said with concern. "What's bothering you?"

For a moment, Karen thought about saying that it was the noise that had kept her up-the noise of jungle, the noise of Jaquie's battles. But she didn't feel like lying to Kris. Besides, he would know if she lied. At last she just brushed the whole thing aside with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"It's nothing," she said at last. "I'm fine."

Kris crossed his arms, not fooled for a second. "You know, every time you say you're fine, it really means you're not."

Karen said nothing.

Kris rolled his eyes. "Okay, whatever. I don't expect you to actually tell me what's wrong. Just try to get a good night's sleep tonight, okay?"

It was Karen's turn to roll her eyes. "Good luck. I've got the late watch tonight."

"Of course." Kris sighed expressively. "Okay then, I'll take it for you then."

"What?" Karen looked at him like he was crazy. "You already have the morning shift."

"So?"

Karen shook her head. "Kris, I won't get any sleep knowing that you're up all night taking my shift. I don't sleep well when I'm feeling guilty."

"So then don't feel guilty," Kris replied. "I'll sleep when Jaquie takes us out again for our pokemon observation trips."

"But I can't accept-"

"Oh forget it Karen," Kris interrupted loudly. "Believe everyone will be happier if you get a good night's sleep. Me, I don't need sleep. I drink coffee."

"I hate it when you act nice," Karen told him.

"I will accept a thank you though."

"Thank you." Her tone was sarcastic.

"You're welcome," he replied, matching her bile. "Now since you and Jaquie both pretty much wrecked my idea, do you have any idea for how we're going to get the pokemon we need to overthrow her?"


	23. Chapter 21: This Side of Paradise

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 21

**This Side of Paradise**

. . .

. . .

The next day was Sunday, March 7th.

After a morning of chores, Jaquie gave them the rest of the afternoon off so that she could do her training. As soon as she left, Jesse disabled the traps and snuck out the barrier, with James following behind her. This time, he had his camera firmly in tow. He couldn't believe how he'd left it under that stupid apple tree all morning. Well, not today. Today he had a fresh battery and a new roll of film.

They met Zeroun at the secret place, and he teleported them to Mountaintop City. Meowth and Gadara, stood out in the sunshine. The mayor's warm smile had returned.

"You saw some of my city yesterday, but I thought for today, I'd give you the grand tour myself."

"Really?" Jesse said skeptically.

"I want you to feel more comfortable here," Gadara said. "It would ensure trust on both sides."

James had been hoping for this. Now was his chance to get all the city on film. He raised his camera. As soon as he put his eye to the lens, the world changed focus. It was a world of possibilities, a world of light and darkness, a world where, at his whim, objects could grow bigger or smaller. It was a world where he was king.

He focused first on Gadara and saw that she was staring right at him, her brow dark.

"What is that?" she asked.

"What's what?"

"That gray rectangular device propped up on your shoulder. It's not a weapon, I hope."

"You mean my video camera?"

_What does a video camera do_? Zeroun inquired.

"It records images on film," James explained. "I can play them back with a push of the button."

"So, it's like a memory?" Gadara said.

"Better," James said. "With it I can permanently capture every detail, every word, and communicate it to the world."

"I have Zeroun for that," Gadara replied.

She didn't seem to quite grasp the concept, but at any rate she accepted the camera as harmless and let him carry it around. In a brisk pace, they toured the town, looking at statues, parks, hospitals, stores, schools, and libraries. Every now and then, Gadara paused near a certain building to note its importance.

"This is the City Hall, one of the oldest buildings in town," she narrated. "Here ordinary citizens meet to discuss their concerns. Once they reach a consensus, they send me a petition and I do my best to accommodate them."

His video camera pressed to his eye, James slowly scanned the building up and down. It was a large, yet modest building that stood on a patch of grass. On the lawn there was a wooden sign post. Jesse read it out loud.

" 'Meeting Wednesday at three o'clock to discuss the halting of migration.' " She turned to Gadara. "What does that mean?"

Gadara frowned. She looked at Zeroun, and a worried expression flickered on his face.

"Its nothing important." Gadara brushed it aside. "Just talk about the roads, I'm sure. Let's continue on."

They breezed through the rest of the tour, with stops at the electric plant, the outdoor stage, and the battle stadiums. The stadiums surprised James the most.

"I didn't know you had pokemon battles here," he said.

"Of course we do," replied Gadara. "It's a way of keeping in shape. A sport, if you will, not unlike your human sports of-"

"Baseball?" Jesse suggested.

"Basketball?" Meowth said.

"Ballet?" finished James.

"One of those," Gadara said. "We have several professional athletes. In fact, the Southern Tropics-that is, the city-state we're in now-has a reputation for training the best athlete warriors on the island."

When they finished the tour, Gadara took them back to her study, promising to answer any additional questions they had about the city. James had a million, but somehow or another their conversation turned to Jaquie and the rest of Team Rocket. A pity really, but they had plenty of time to learn more about the city. Gadara invited them over every afternoon for the rest of the week and promised they'd be free to come and go as they pleased.

James could hardly wait.

. . .

The next day Meowth told them Gadara was tied up talking to another mayor, but sent them tickets to a play called_The Adventures of Roanoke_. The story involved a Bulbasaur/ Ivysaur/ Venusaur fictitious hero. Born into slavery, Roanoke gradually escaped, and rose to the position of king, whereupon his kingdom of Ariacourt, was threatened by an evil like no other.

The actors all spoke in pokemon language, so James understood not a word of it. Throughout the entire first half of the play he nudged Meowth for translation, until Meowth grew irritated and scratched him. But at that point it no longer mattered.

James could feel himself being pulled into the play, until the actors' voices became music. The roars of battle and the silence of agony filled the room and pulsed against the hearts of all the audience members. With every defeat, James grimaced. With every victory, he cheered. Roanoke endure hardship after hardship, stubbornly refusing to give up his beliefs.

In the end, he sacrificed his life to destroy the evil and bring peace to his country. There was not a dry eye in the theatre. James himself was sobbing helplessly and applauding with all his might as the actors bowed and the curtains closed.

Gadara arrived out of nowhere after the play was finished.

"Did you enjoy it?" she asked politely.

"It was wonderful," James said breathlessly.

"Good."

They drifted over to a nearby park, as the sun dipped in the sky. The grass felt springy beneath James' feet.

"Roanoke is one of our heroes," Gadara continued. "I'd hoped his story would move you, but I didn't know how well you'd relate to a pokemon hero."

"Oh, that was no trouble," James said. "Roanoke grew up with so many hardships. I know how that feels. We've all been bullied before, by Kris, by Karen-"

"And Jaquie?" Gadara asked. "Does she bully you as well?"

Just like that the conversation was back to Team Rocket. It made James only mildly perturbed; he had still wanted to talk about the play.

. . .

The next day, the weather was a mess. For perhaps the first time since they set foot on the island, it was overcast, a dreary barrage of cloud and shadow and humidity. James came to Mountaintop City in an ugly mood.

He had no camera today. Earlier, Karen and Kris had shut the door to the headquarters and yelled at each other at the top of their lungs. Jesse warned him not to get in the middle of their fight. Still, James thought he could sneak in during a lull. Big mistake.

Kris beat James, insulted him, and tossed him around like a rag doll. And to top it off, James never did get his camera. He barely slunk out of there alive. So he was not in the best mood to begin with. But all that changed when he got to Mountaintop City.

Zeroun teleported them to a station made of glass perched upon the tallest mountain in the city, called the Watch Tower. From this height James could see all the buildings below, followed by layers of lush jungle, the ocean, and onward to the very edge of the horizon. Psychic pokemon roamed the station, emitting waves of purple energy.

_Most of the psychic pokemon are either employed or hold community service here, Zeroun explained. Using their combined strength, they transfer the clouds away from the island. Observe._

James peered outside. Sure enough, slowly at first and against the wind, the clouds began to break up and move south. Less clouds headed north, east, and west.

_The clouds gather in the ocean, away from us_, Zeroun concluded.

"Why?" asked Jesse. "Why go through all this trouble to move the clouds?"

Zeroun looked at Gadara.

"We don't like overcast days," she replied hastily. "We have many solar-powered devices, so we need maximum sunlight."

Halfway through the day, Gadara and Zeroun got called away on a meeting.

"No problem," Meowth said, chest puffed. "I can show you around."

James noticed that Meowth's walking had changed. He swaggered through the street, calling greetings to the pokemon around them. Some of the smaller pokemon tried to imitate his way of walking, on two feet like a human. Meowth paused at sign with a bunch of fruit painted on.

"Let's stop here," Meowth said. "This place has the best Charmander flame fruit plate."

James looked around at the large tables and brightly colored chairs and silently cursed Kris for making him forget his camera. The pokemon at the table near theirs spoke a very poor version of English. They asked him, shyly, if he liked the city. James could honestly answer that he loved it.

Fruit came: oranges and mangoes, flaming hot and dripping with some kind of sweetly tangy sauce. James ate up all their food on the plate and the waiter brought them more. He ate platters and platters of the warm, deliciously sticky fruit.

"But what are we going to do for money?" James whispered to Meowth, wiping the juice from his mouth.

"Don't worry." Meowth waved his paw. "It's all free, on account of I'm a very special guest."

Sure enough, no bill came. As they walked out the restaurant, the waiter waved them goodbye and said to come again. How strange. No angry chef dragged them to the kitchen to make them wash dishes. James patted his full stomach. This was the life. It certainly beat living off free samples.

. . .

This time, James made sure to grip his camera firmly to his chest as he walked out the door. Kris glanced at him, but didn't say a word. The green-haired boy was in a better mood today. He was whistling all through breakfast.

Meowth told them that Gadara and Zeroun had gone off to some meeting with the other mayors but had arranged a lecture for them at the university. Although James didn't understand everything about alliance obligations and peace treaties, he dutifully taped everything the professor said. The lecture ended after two hours and the professor asked if they wanted to hear another one.

"That's okay," Jesse said. "I have an activity in mind for this afternoon."

"What?" James asked her.

Jesse smiled. "Today is Wednesday."

At first glance, City Hall was extremely plain for such a prestigious building. A one-roomed, gapingly wide building with no door in the doorway and no glass in the window frames. It was comprised of a dull plaster painted an unimpressive tan. Yet up close, James noticed all kinds of tiny carvings running up and down the building, elaborate portraits of all 150 pokemon.

"Do we have to go to this meeting?" James asked. "It seems boring. And I was hoping to catch another play."

"I wanted to hear pokemon talk about my mom," Meowth said.

Jesse gripped them both by the ears, cutting off their protests. "All the pokemon are going here. It could be something important, and I want to find out what. So quit whining and come on." She dragged them inside the building.

They crawled along the balcony like in their old Team Rocket days. Below them, most of the pokemon were settling down, murmuring and rumbling to each other. Jesse, James, and Meowth tucked themselves into a corner and hid there.

"James, start the camera rolling," Jesse ordered.

As James clicked the camera on, Jesse took out a microphone and talked into it. "From Mountaintop City Hall, a special report." James turned the camera away from Jesse towards the pokemon. "The pokemon are in a meeting to discuss the halting of migration to and from this city. Let's listen in."

A Marowak stood on the center stage and opened the meeting. "Maro, Marowak," he said in a distinguished voice.

"Meowth, translate," commanded Jesse.

He did. " 'As you all know, Gadara has stopped all movement in and out of the city-state. The roads are guarded. Air space is regulated. Communication with any other city-state is basically forbidden. Only by strict new rules is anyone allowed to move to the other city-states boundaries, or even talk with them. The question must be asked: why?' "

A Clefable stood up. "Clefable, Cle, Clefable."

"Meowth!"

"She's saying, 'Well, what is the restriction on migration really hurting? To be perfectly frank, most of us can live comfortably without trade with the other city-states. Unlike them, where trade is high and movement common, we are and have been quite independent. We have a few young ones coming to train at the battle school who might otherwise wish to see their families, but that is all.' "

From the seats, a Golem rumbled something.

" 'Besides, Gadara has done this before and it never really lasted more than a day,' " Meowth translated as quickly as he could.

A Kingler made rough, gurgling sounds.

"Kingler says, 'But this has been going on for over a week.' "

"The last time such restrictions went up, there were rumored to be humans in the area." James looked up from his camera. Meowth wasn't the one who had spoken these words. An old, sour looking Sandslash had made this comment, in perfect English. "In fact, every time there are 'rumors' of humans, we are banned from talking with the other city-states."

Then, "Gloom, gloom."

Meowth was back to translating. " 'Well, this is certainly more than rumors this time.' "

A female Raticate shrilled out.

" 'What are we supposed to think of these humans, anyway? I know we've all been taught to believe they were good. But I've heard rumors before of their terrible power. Why my cousin Ara told me that she had seen them stuff poor beaten pokemon into a small round box for them to suffocate in. And now there is this Jesse and James, and I don't know what to think. They seem decent enough, don't you think?' "

This seemed to be cause for discussion. Several pokemon spoke, one right after one another. Meowth nearly ran out of breath trying to translate everything.

" 'I spoke with Jesse. She was very inquisitive. She wanted to know-.' "

" 'And their companion is a pokemon. Not only a pokemon, but Sadie's child. He's one of us. And Gadara-.' "

" 'The pokemon who live outside the city claim humans are brutal. They say there are more of them then just Jesse and James-' "

" 'What does Gadara think? If she says humans are dangerous-' "

"Gadara is humanphobic." It was the Sandslash again. "She doesn't want anything to do with humans and she never will. Humans would have come to this island much sooner if she didn't quit chasing them away."

At this the Marowak who had started the meeting, stiffened, and took center stage. "Maro, Maro, Gar-tera, Marowak, Wak, Marowak," he said in a prim voice and glared at the Sandslash.

"Meowth, what did he say?" asked Jesse.

"He said, 'Gadara is a dear friend of mine, as well as the mayor of this city. You may speak negatively about her, but you will be respectful about it.' "

"May I address a concern?" Marowak nodded his head and a Ninetails took his place; like Sandslash she could speak English. "What I wish to know is why Gadara is parading these humans around in our city? My first inclination," Ninetails continued, "was that Gadara wanted to set up a peace with these humans at last and these humans 'diplomats' were to help write up a treaty. But then she does something that completely contradicts it-she cuts off all communication with the other four city-states. She still communicates with them-she has to under the Alliance Obligation-but we don't. She meets with the other mayors, but they don't meet with us, on our land where they can see the humans. What does that mean? Is she trying to hide something from them?"

The audience burst into a new round of chatter. Meowth didn't even bother to try to translate for them. He just waited for the next speaker, a Paras, to begin his speech.

" 'I have been listening to comments from the audience and trying to understand what it all means. Some believe that Gadara wants all the credit for the peace treaty for herself, so she's trying to deny the other leaders participation. Some think that Gadara wants to first study the humans to see if they're peaceful or not, then present her observations to the decision-Senate. Some-' " James could not miss that as he said his next words, Paras stared directly at the grumpy Sandslash. " '-believe that Gadara is delaying in order to get rid of the humans before the council finds out about them. As for myself, I cannot help but think-' "

At which point, the camera stopped rolling.

James missed the rest of the speech trying to get it to work again before realizing that he was out of film. He did get to hear the verdict though: while most pokemon agreed that the humans were being used for observations, there were still too many what ifs, so the Marowak was going to take up a petition to demand a public answer to the questions they posed. In the meantime, everyone was going to have to live with the strict migration laws.

With the end of the meeting, the pokemon leaked out of the City-Hall. James, Jesse, and Meowth waited for all of them to leave before they got up. James stood slowly. He was confused. All this time he had spent admiring the city, he had never really thought about why they were here. They were supposed to be diplomats. But so far, Gadara hadn't given them anything diplomatic to do.

"You'd better have a good reason for making me translate all of that," Meowth huffed to Jesse. He was out of breath and slightly hoarse.

"Gadara is up to something," Jesse said. "I've been talking-or writing-with other pokemon, and I've learned something else. Gadara has a whole bunch of pokemon hidden around our headquarters, waiting."

"She isn't going to attack us, is she?" James asked.

"No, at least I don't think so. Those pokemon are just supposed to watch us-and make sure that pokemon from the other city-states don't see us." Jesse leaned forward, her voice sunk to a whisper. "Don't you think that's suspicious? It's like she doesn't want the other city-states to know about us."

"But isn't she supposed to tell them? Under the Alliance-something or another?"

"Maybe she's waiting to find out more information about us, like they said in the meeting," said Meowth.

"But she isn't asking about us," Jesse said. "Only Jaquie."

"Then it's your fault that she doesn't want the other city-states to know about us," Meowth said. "All you ever do is say how bad Jaquie is. She's probably afraid that if she introduces them, Jaquie will try to capture the other leaders or something."

"Well, she might," Jesse retorted. "But I still don't trust Gadara."

"Gadara is nice," Meowth insisted. "She knew my mom. And she runs the city, and I like this city. When I walk down the streets, the pokemon don't gawk at me or think I'm a freak. They act like I'm one of them. This place is different from the human world. Pokemon respect one another."

"Yeah," James added. "This place is a paradise. It's not like Team Rocket where everyone picks on everyone else."

"And how long do you think that will last?" Jesse asked. "Right now, nobody but Gadara and Zeroun even knows we're from Team Rocket. How do you think they'll react when they learn we used to steal pokemon for a living? You think they'll accept us then?"

James and Meowth looked down.

Maybe Jesse was right, and it couldn't last. Nothing good ever did. They were Team Rocket, doomed to try and fail and try again and fail once more. That's just how it was. They were the bad guy, after all.

And for the first time in his life, James was truly sorry that they were.

. . .

"You've shut down the borders. You won't accept our help. You refuse to meet us in person. And yet you still claim to have no idea where these mysterious humans are hiding." Kolb, the Blastoise mayor of the Northern shore, leaned forward in his chair. "If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were lying to my face."

Gadara didn't blink. "Then it's a good thing you do know me better," she replied as steadily as she could.

She could not waver or show any sign of dishonesty. Zeroun was watching her, instantly transmitting his memory of the moment all the way across the island, where the image bloomed in the Blastoise mayor's head. His advisor, in turn, sent Gadara the memories of Kolb's reaction: a frown, a hard glare. She saw it in her mind.

He was suspicious, but he couldn't confirm it. If Gadara had been present at the meeting, there was no doubt that Kolb would scan her thoughts and know she was lying. But a psychic link offered only observation. He could see her face and hear her words, but he had no access to her mind. And that meant he had no proof of dishonesty.

"There are rumors," Kolb said. "Human sightings occur almost every year around your shore. Yet they always disappear before the rest of our city-states see anything."

"I'm surprised," Gadara said. "I thought you were above rumors."

"I am," Kolb said dryly. "Until rumors become a pattern. But I won't press you; I know that you are aware of the full terms of the Alliance Obligation."

"Of course."

"Until next time then." Kolb cut off the connection.

Gadara sighed heavily and signaled for Zeroun to leave her.

This was getting complicated. Parading Jesse and James around her city with one hand, while holding the other city-states back with the other. If Zeroun hadn't let the humans through the city to begin with, she wouldn't have to keep producing them for her citizens to see. And if the other city-states didn't keep calling her away to meetings, she might have been able to keep a better eye on her guests.

She slumped in her chair. It didn't matter, anymore. It was all delaying tactics anyway. Her whole city was now a witness to her deception. Once the city-states learned she had Team Rocket and dispelled them without even consulting them, they'd be required by law to impeach her.

The evening dimmed into night; her automatic electric lights flashed on. Gadara didn't want to lose her office; she loved being mayor. But what worried her far more was her successor. She couldn't guarantee that whoever replaced her would take the measures necessary to keep humans off the island; in fact most likely he wouldn't. At first, she'd told herself it didn't matter. These humans-Team Rocket-_they_ were an abomination. Any humans that came afterward had to be better than these.

Or so she had thought.

Recently, she'd learned that Team Rocket referred not just to this tiny group, but to a large, well-run criminal organization. If anyone else knew about the island-and Jesse assured her that at least one other person did-then brainwashing the small group did no good. Team Rocket would just send them right back-and probably with more people and greater weapons.

So, what was she going to do? She wasn't even sure how to capture this small group of six. Did she now have to go to the human word, hunt down every member of Team Rocket, and erase their memory too? Or was there another way?

Gadara didn't know. So she delayed. She hesitated.

As a result, she could only watch helplessly as Jaquie used the time to launch a new kidnapping spree.


	24. Chapter 22: The Seeds of Rebellion

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 22

**The Seeds of Rebellion**

. . .

. . .

He was a Tauros that roamed by the mountain with the rest of his herd. Jaquie selected him for his slow, even temperament, as well as his incredible strength and endurance. While Karen and Kris distracted the herd, Jaquie battled him one-on-one with her Nidorino. As the Tauros fell to his knees, Jaquie threw a pokeball and added him to her little group.

That was this morning.

This afternoon, she tried her hand at training. She took Tauros out of his pokeball and explained that she would be his trainer now. Tauros accepted this information calmly enough, not once trying to escape. So far, so good.

The problem came when Jaquie released Nidorina. Tauros remained as docile as ever-but Nidorina went ballistic.

Poison rained in sheets. Pin missiles flew across the sky. Ice beams, thunderbolts, and hyper beams assaulted Jaquie's pokemon wherever they went. Everything Nidorina had learned in the past half a week about strategy and pacing promptly vanished as Nidorina attacked and attacked with a desperate ferocity that almost frightened Jaquie.

And as unsophisticated as Nidorina's attacks were, the sheer force and volume of them nearly defeated all of Jaquie's pokemon combined. In the end, Jaquie halted any attempt at an offense by her pokemon and had them reflect Nidorina's attacks until she collapsed from sheer exhaustion. But that took the entire afternoon.

"What am I doing wrong?" she murmured as she called back her worn pokemon.

She rubbed her forehead with her hand. None of the pokemon she'd captured had ever given this much problems. None of them had shown even the slightest bit of defiance. It was easy enough for her to make the pokemon stronger, but how in the world was she supposed to make one like her?

She turned around. "Jared, do you know what I can do to make Nidorina obey me?"

Jared was in the middle of standing up from his usual spot from a fallen log; he stopped mid-way through and stared at Jaquie.

"Me?" he said, sitting back down. "_You're_ asking me?"

Jaquie nodded. "To be perfectly honest, I have no clue as to how to deal with Nidorina. She's wild, unpredictable, defiant... I don't know how to control her. You've seen my training. What do you think?"

"Well, I do have some ideas." Jared rocked thoughtfully back and forth on his fallen tree trunk. "For one thing, did you notice how she hates her pokeball? And I don't just mean the ordinary hatred she seems to have for everything. She panics every time she comes near it. I think she must be one of the few pokemon who are deeply claustrophobic."

"But there's no way that I can keep her out of her pokeball, if that's what you're suggesting," Jaquie said. "I'm sorry that it bothers her, but I can't watch her all the time, especially since she's always attempting an escape."

Jared shrugged. "Okay, fair enough. Well, then, maybe you can remove the restraining device. It still bothers her-"

"No," Jaquie replied immediately. "She's too strong with it on. The moment I take it off is the moment her escape becomes that much easier."

"Jaquie, you're going to have to give her some sort of freedom if you want her to like you."

"I want her to obey me. I don't care about being her friend."

Jared sighed. "The least you can do is give all your pokemon more free time. Between battles and drills, they have practically no time to relax."

"Done," said Jaquie. "Any other suggestions?"

"Well, there is one last thing." Jared suddenly sprung from his log in a burst of boyish energy. "You can have Nidorino talk to her. He's the pokemon who likes you best, right? He can ask Nidorina why she won't obey and what it is she wants. And he can convince Nidorina that you aren't as...um... relentless... as you seem."

"Now, that is a good idea Jared," Jaquie said approvingly. "It works even better since Nidorino is one of my more diplomatic pokemon. Thank you. And if you have any other ideas that my help me, feel free to interrupt."

"Really?" Jared looked as though he'd just been given an invitation to a party by the most popular kid at school.

"Of course. I value your opinion. This may surprise you, but I'm not good at everything and I would appreciate your help."

Jared nodded eagerly.

The sun was starting to set. "We'd better get going." Jaquie walked back towards the headquarters.

"Yes, we don't want to miss dinner." Jared followed her lead. Then he stopped. "And by the way, thanks," he added hastily, before sprinting ahead of her.

_For what_? Jaquie thought.

Then she remembered. Jared had always hung on the fringes of social groups, sometimes working with them, sometimes watching them, but never really a part of them. He hungered to be included into some group. She had included him. By saying she needed his help, she was saying that she trusted him with her own doubts and shortcomings and weaknesses. It had thrilled him.

But it scared her to death.

. . .

Clouds crunched together about the sky. The afternoon was gray and ominous and frustrated; Karen had a mood to match.

"This is impossible!" she raged. "I can't think of a single way we can possibly defeat her! I just can't! Everything I think of, I can think of a million reasons why it won't work!"

This particular outburst was brought on because Kris had the audacity to ask if she'd thought up a plan yet. Her sleeping patterns hadn't improved much and she was grumpy. But Kris was himself tired and getting impatient, so his mood wasn't any better.

"Well then why don't we use one of my ideas?" he grumped back.

"Such as what? Stealing Jaquie's pokeballs and capturing pokemon ourselves," she mocked. "She counts them you know, and even if she didn't, we would never be able to capture enough pokemon to overwhelm her."

"My amnesia serum idea was good," Kris said.

"Sure, making the pokemon so stupid they would have to be our slaves. That would work perfectly."

"It would work fine if we had enough! It's not my fault that Jaquie only packed five! I mean five, what can you do with that!"

"You were lucky to find that many at all. You know Jaquie never uses that stuff."

"Maybe if you would just talk to Jared about replicating some," he began.

Karen stiffened. "I told you I am not flirting with that...I am not flirting with him!"

"Well, you're not doing anything else except rejecting my ideas! You're not even trying!" he yelled. "Do you want us to beat Jaquie or not?"

The accusation hung in the air.

"If I wanted you to fail," Karen replied with particular venom, "I would let you use your pathetic, loser ideas!"

With that she abruptly turned and stormed into their room.

"At least I have ideas," Kris tried to retort, but Karen had already slammed the door shut in his face. Kris found himself talking to an empty room.

Well, almost empty. Having heard the argument end, James, who had been outside, pried the door open to see if it was safe to get his camera.

"What're you looking at?" Kris growled and James froze.

Kris stalked over to him. James looked torn whether to get the camera or get away. He pounced for the camera and grabbed it. Then, Kris grabbed him.

He caught James by the front of his shirt and swung him into the wall. James smacked into the wooden boards with a loud thud. He groaned.

"Shut up," Kris said. "Just what do you think you're doing in here? And what's this?"

He ripped the camera out of James' hands.

"So, you were trying to act like a reporter again, you sniveling wimp."

Kris made as if to slam the camera back in his face. James cringed. And stayed cringed even several seconds later, when it was obvious Kris wasn't going to hit him.

This annoyed Kris. "Hey, look at me!" he yelled.

He rattled him back and forth. James clenched his eyes closed and lowered his head.

"You stupid coward," Kris concluded disdainfully, throwing him back against the wall.

Kris stepped back and kept quiet. James finally opened his eyes and scampered for the door. Kris blocked his way.

"Let me through," James said.

"Let me through," Kris mocked and pushed James backward so he fell on his butt. "Come on chicken boy, what're you going to do to get past me, huh?"

"James?"

It was Jesse. She poked her head in to see what was taking him so long. When she saw Kris lording over her partner, a scowl crossed her face.

"Hey, leave him alone!"

Kris grinned and whispered to James in his most derisive tone, "I see your girlfriend is here to rescue you." Turning to Jesse, he added, "So what are you going to do, run out and find your big sister?"

Jesse hesitated, then suddenly took a step forward. "I don't need my sister to take care of you."

Kris guffawed. "Who do you think you are? Karen?"

He was really beginning to feel in a better mood. It must have been all the laughing.

"What's going on?" Karen was standing outside their room, arms crossed. "I heard my name."

"Yeah, Jesse thought she could take me," Kris said. "I was telling her only you could do that."

Karen made a little smile, which she quickly hid. Kris took it as a sign that she was in a better mood too and seized the opportunity to make amends.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said, "about... you know."

"Yeah, me too," admitted Karen.

Kris was acutely aware that Jesse and James were trying to sneak out the front door. "Hey, you two!"

They sprinted. The door shut behind them with a bang.

"Don't let the pokemon eat you," he finished.

"Have you noticed that those two are never around?" Karen said. "In fact, we're the only ones who ever hang around the headquarters during free time."

"Well, good for them, they have lives." Kris noticed he still had James' video camera in his hand. He went over to the tapes and started scanning the labels.

"What are you doing?" Karen asked.

"I'm bored. I want to watch one of the pokemon battles."

He stuck a tape in. It was at the end, so he rewound it, watching it zoom back via the little view screen. The image didn't change much-a bare tree, with no pokemon by it or anything.

"I was just thinking about our plans," Karen said. "There's only one way we could possibly beat Jaquie." She sighed. "We need an army. It would be so easy if we could just rally the pokemon in a unified hatred of Jaquie, let them charge her, and then just step out of the way."

"We could do that," Kris said. "You mean like throw rocks at some pokemon?"

Karen shook her head. "No, that's too disorganized. I mean an army, like those Machokes and Magmars."

"I remember." Kris stared at the screen. "How long did they sit taping this stupid tree. Did James fall asleep or what?"

Karen shook her head and looked out the window. "Looks like the clouds are breaking up," she said. "Funny, I thought we'd have rain for sure."

"What the heck!?" Kris suddenly burst. "Karen, come here! You have to see this!"

"What?" She looked into the camera's view screen. "What the-?!"

Apples whirled around an Alakazam on the tiny screen. In the midst of the hailstorm of fruit stood Jesse, James, and a familiar looking Meowth.

"What is this?" Karen said.

Kris shrugged. "You tell me. I'm just rewinding it."

"Well, stop rewinding."

Kris hit the play button. The apples had gone back to their tree. Alakazam was talking.

_Our leader Gadara requests an audience with you two-_

"That means she wants to meet you."

_-inside the city._

"When was this dated?" Karen asked.

Kris looked at the flashing numbers on the screen. "Three days ago."

"And we're still alive," Karen marveled.

"Wait, how do we know this isn't some kind of trap?" film Jesse was saying.

"You did attack us before."

_We were provoked. Please, understand that while we basically want peace with humans, we will defend ourselves if necessary_.

"Provoked my butt," Kris snorted. "I know a militia when I see one. Provoked! Who's Fearow attacked who?"

"Kris, shut up, I want to hear this," Karen said.

"You want peace?" film James asked.

The Alakazam nodded. _Once, on this island, human and pokemon lived together in harmony. The humans are no more, today, but we would still like to maintain... friendly... relations with them. We want peace again, for humans and pokemon. But we know little about the human world you live in. That is why we request that you three-Jesse, James, and Meowth-serve as diplomats to our city_.

Karen drew in her breath. "Are there any more tapes like this?"

"I don't know," Kris said. "Here, try this one; it was in the camera."

Karen put it in. "Whoa! They have a whole city. A whole civilization."

They spent the rest of the afternoon watching the tape, both just standing there, staring at the miniature screen. The sun began to sink. Human footsteps crunched outside, nearing the house. Kris shoved the camera aside and glanced out the window, but it was only Jaquie and Jared coming back from training.

"Kris," Karen whispered. "I think we're onto something. We may be able to use this to defeat Jaquie."

"How?"

"I don't know exactly. But the city is the key. Make sure James gets his camera tomorrow. We need more information."

. . .

Kris didn't bother James the next afternoon, and sure enough, the dweeb took his camera and headed off into the jungle with Jesse. They didn't return until sunset. Kris saw James put the camera in his room, but didn't grab it yet. After all, he had the first watch of the night. He could afford to wait.

When all the lights were off and soft snores came from Jesse and James' room, Kris snuck inside and stole the camera. Karen waited for him with a flashlight in hand.

"I got it," Kris said. "Let's watch."

They sat down on empty crates, turned the volume low, and put their heads together to listen. At first, Kris was excited to learn that Jesse and James were attending a history lecture. But his excitement ebbed when he realized the island's "history" consisted of one long, boring document.

Still, he tried to listen. But the tiny view box strained his eyes and made his lids grow heavy. His head begin to nod. He dozed. Suddenly, a loud thud woke him. Kris opened his eyes and found himself lying on the floor. He'd fallen off the crate.

Karen was still staring intently at the camera. "Quiet."

"Do you really find that interesting?" Kris stretched. "That's the most boring history I've ever heard. Not a single war or rebellion. Nothing but politics."

Karen didn't move. "They're at a town meeting now," she said quietly. "And I want to know what Gadara's up to. On the one hand, she says she wants to sign a peace treaty with the humans-"

"Don't tell me you actually bought that whole peace treaty thing?"

She turned. "You don't think she means it?"

"Of course not." Kris took a deck of cards from his pocket. "She attacked us the moment we stepped on this island; I have the scars to prove it."

"So why is she showing Jesse and James to everyone then?"

"To make the pokemon who want peace think she wants peace even though she doesn't."

Karen gave him a look. "Huh?"

"She's lying."

"You don't think she was forced to make a peace treaty with us?"

Kris rolled his eyes. "Karen, your problem is that you always try to make simple things complicated. Who would force her? Her citizens. They don't even know what's going on."

Karen put down the camera. "What about the decision-Senate?"

"What the heck is a decision-Senate?"

"Didn't you listen to the professor at all? The decision-Senate is made up of all five mayors of the city-states. They vote on important issues. If three leaders want a peace treaty, the island gets a peace treaty."

Kris twirled a card between his fingers. "Who says the other leaders want peace?"

"I think it's obvious they do," Karen retorted. "Everything on this island is peace and love and harmony-Gadara's the only real exception. Besides, Jaquie told us she found four other cities, but none had invisible walls and the pokemon didn't attack her there."

"Okay, I see your point. If the whole island wanted us dead, there'd be no hesitation." Kris dealt himself a solitaire hand. "So maybe Gadara didn't tell the decision-Senate."

"She has to."

"Why?"

"Because of the Alliance Obligation. She has no choice."

"Sure she does. Politicians choose to break the laws all the time," Kris said with a shrug,

"This isn't just a law. This is like...like their Constitution."

"We the Pokemon of the United Island..."

"Knock it off, Kris. This isn't a joke. If she breaks it, she could get in serious trouble. At best, she'd get kicked out. At worst, she could cause a war."

Karen paused and cocked her head.

"If you ask me, they could use a good civil war," Kris said. "It would make their history much more interesting-"

"Listen," Karen cut him off. "I may have an idea for how we can beat Jaquie."

Kris put the cards down. "What is it?"

"We need an army, don't we? Well, governments have armies."

"So you think we should collaborate with Gadara?"

"Not Gadara. She'd just stab us in the back. We need pokemon who a little more naive-like the leaders of the other four city-states."

"But you just said they believed in peace and harmony," Kris pointed out.

Karen smiled. "Your problem, Kris, is that you never try to make simple things complicated. Anyone can be manipulated. If Gadara can convince her people she wants peace, we can convince four peace loving city-states that they want war."

. . .

Nidorina didn't fail to notice Jaquie being nice-nor did she fail to be suspicious of it. Jaquie's little ploy of giving her more free time outside her pokeball was either meant to distract her from Jaquie's other atrocities or, more laughably, to win her over. Nidorina wasn't buying it.

Capturing her was one thing, unforgivable in its own light, but capturing other pokemon-this was a sin. It proved that Jaquie's appetite for power did not stop at enslaving one pokemon. No, her intent was to enslave an entire population. But Nidorina wasn't going to stand for it. She was going to destroy Jaquie from the inside out.

While Nidorina sat peacefully conspiring, Nidorino, the ever-faithful servant of Jaquie, approached her. Nidorina half-expected that he would come slithering up to her like a snake, with false promises or threats. He sat down in the grass near her, close but not uncomfortably so.

"Nido, Nidorina," he greeted her. _Hello Nidorina_.

In a cold voice she replied, "Nida, Nidorina. Nidorina, Leah." _I have a name. I'm called Leah_.

"Rino. Nido, Lrriiiiaa," he corrected. _All right. Hello, Leah_.

"Nida, Rina?" _What do you want_?

"Nido, Nidorino." _I just want to talk with you_.

_No, you don't. __Jaquie sent you_.

Nidorino sighed. "Nido, Nidorino." _Yes, she did_. "Nidorino, Rino, Rino, Rio, Nidorino?" _She asked what she can do to make you more cooperative_?

Nida, Nidorina," Leah replied instantly. _She can let us all free_.

Nidorino paused. _Perhaps in two months_...

"Nido." _Now_.

_But she can't do that_.

_Of course she can_. "Nida, Nidorina, Nida, Rina, Rina." _All she has to do is remove the restraining device and we'll be on our way_.

_You don't understand_. _Jaquie plans to take over Team Rocket, and she needs all the firepower she can get. Two months of training, one battle, and everyone can be released back to the island with no harm done_.

_That's what you say_, she replied._ Only two months. Then there's a delay, and we're stuck for an additional month. Then maybe two more months. Then a year. Then the rest of our lives. What kind of a fool do you think I am? This is slavery._

_You've mixed everything all up._

_Save it. You may have brainwashed the others, but you won't brainwash me. And gradually, when the reality sinks in, they'll realize that they've been enslaved, and I'll be prepared to carry out a full insurrection_.

_You're very courageous, but this isn't-_

_Tell Jaquie to free us now, or she will suffer the consequences_.

Nidorino sighed. _I can see you don't trust me. But maybe that will change in time. I'll leave you alone now_. He turned and began to leave.

But Leah couldn't keep her mouth shut. _You're her slave, too, you know. You breathe her lies, her poison. But the sad thing is that you've chosen this life for yourself. I won't. And none of your pretty talk will change that_.

Nidorino stopped. He turned. And Leah saw that his eyes had lost their compassionate sparkle. They were hard.

"Nido, Nidorino." _You think you're pretty tough, living as an elite trainer on this sheltered island of yours_. "Rino, Nidorino." _But you have no idea what the real world is like_. S_o it isn't surprising that you don't know a good trainer when you see one_.

He crept closer. _Jaquie is demanding, but she's fair. And when the time comes, you're going to have to obey her_.

_I find that hard to believe_, Leah said.

_If you don't listen to her, you'll end up in Giovanni's hands. And he will not wait for you to display your temper. He'll douse you with amnesia serum the moment you come out of your pokeball._

_What's amnesia serum_?

_It's a drug that Team Rocket scientists have developed. When poured on a pokemon's skin, the pokemon loses all memory of its past. More than that, it loses all ability of independent thought. The first voice it hears is its master and the pokemon will obey him unconditionally_.

Leah bristled. _You're lying_.

_I've seen Giovanni use it before_, he said softly.

_If this amnesia serum existed Jaquie would have used it already. _

_Believe that if you want. You don't trust me, so it doesn't surprise me that you won't listen to me. And I honestly do hope you'll never see it used. _

_I won't,_ she said. _You can be sure of that._

Leah settled into the grass. Part of her didn't want to believe that such a despicable thing as amnesia serum could exist. But there was something in Nidorino's slow, steady voice and his serious dark eyes. She didn't think he was lying. He believe humans could be worse than Jaquie, and that's why he collaborated with her.

But that didn't change her opinion of this slave driver. It only made her more determined. Leah stood up. If what Nidorino said was true, Jaquie planned to make some kind of move in the next two months. That meant she couldn't bide her time for a rebellion. She needed one soon.


	25. Chapter 23: Stress and Dissension

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 23

**Stress and Dissension**

. . .

. . .

_You're joining her_! Leah couldn't contain her shock; it poured out of her in a violent explosion of words. _She invades our land, rips us away from family, makes us her slaves-and you side with her_?!

The newly captured Tauros stepped back uncomfortably. _Well, no... I mean I'm not... It's not like that. We're not her pokemon. We're...we're her friends_.

_Friends_? Leah scoffed. _Some friend she is. She works you each day to the point of exhaustion. You eat and rest and work according to her schedule. And when she's finally finished with you, she stuffs you into a tiny pokeball where you can't even breathe-_

_But I like the pokeball_, he said. _It's like being in a warm, relaxing sleep, and when I wake up, my wounds are healed_.

_We have hospitals for that_.

_Leah, you don't understand. Humans and pokemon belong with each other, fighting side by side. Ever since Jaquie's captured me, I've felt an overwhelmingly sense of loyalty to her._

_And what about Gadara?_

_Gadara is wrong. I've lived all my life on this island, hating and fearing humans, but now that I'm with them, I see it differently. Humans and pokemon are meant to work together side by side; it's in our nature to serve them. And working together we can achieve great things-like this island._

_They can destroy as easily as they build_, Leah said. _And Jaquie will ruin the island if she has her way_.

Tauros hesitated, but only for a moment. _Nidorino says-_

_You're listening to him_?! Leah exploded.

_He says that you're jumping to conclusions, that none of us have been giving humans or Jaquie a fair chance. He says that she doesn't want to enslave us, she just wants to make us stronger._

_Nidorino is her spy. What makes you think anything he says is true?_

_If it isn't true, than why would he follow her_? Tauros said logically.

_Because he's crazy._

That explanation didn't satisfy him, and the short break Jaquie gave them came to an end. Leah blew out a frustrated sigh. Tauros grew up in the Southern Tropics; he should have known better than to trust a human. Clearly, being sucked into a pokeball had sucked out his common sense.

Over the next few days, Jaquie continued to add to her conquest-one new pokemon after another. Pokemon Leah knew. If they only listened to her, she'd have been able to start a rebellion in a heartbeat. Instead they were stupid: stupid and stubborn.

_It's easy for you_, Jynx complained. _You were trained at South Point, the best academy on the island. We never had the opportunity. Now we finally found someone to teach us and you want us to throw away our chance_. _I think not._

_The only_ _'chance' you have is the chance to wage war your fellow pokemon for someone else's pleasure_, Leah said. _A chance to work your tail off-though you don't have one-without any pay or reward_.

_You're just jealous, _Jynx snapped_. You're afraid we'll become better fighters than you_.

_You're a delusional fool_, Leah retorted back. _Fine, believe what you want. Believe you aren't enslaved; believe you're happy. You'll discover the truth soon enough_.

A few days of this made Leah feel low and discouraged. But just as Leah was beginning to think she was on her own, a glimmer of hope came. A Pidgeot swooped down beside her.

_Are you the one trying to start the rebellion?_ he asked.

Leah looked up. _Yes._

_I want to help._ _I know this human is a vicious slave driver, even if no one else will see it. I won't sit here and do nothing._

Jaquie's whip cracked against the ground. "Pidgeot, please move away from Nidorina."

He didn't move. _I'll do whatever you tell me_.

_Pretend you're obedient for now_, Leah whispered back. _We'll attack her when the time is right. Just wait for my signal. We'll escape together and lead Gadara's army against this evil human._

. . .

"Why a team battle?" Jared said. "Isn't Nidorina strong enough without giving her a partner?"

"Yes, and that's why I need to be careful," Jaquie said, calmly loading an ice revolver. "But so far, I've only seen Nidorina in a one-on-one battle. I need to know if she can lead."

Jared didn't really see the point. In the last few days, Nidorina had yet to grow any less rebellious. If Jared were doing the training, he'd leave her alone and focus on the more docile pokemon. But then again, he wasn't the leader of Team Rocket.

"Just don't pair her with the Pidgeot," Jared advised. "He's trouble."

"I know," Jaquie said patiently. "I intend to put Dodrio on Nidorina's team and see how she works with him."

She took out her core group of pokemon and whispered something to Rhyhorn and Slowbro. When she released Dodrio, he went up to Nidorina, flapping and squawking. Jared wondered whether she would accept him at all or if she would try to fight the battle alone.

Nidorina gave orders without hesitation. Whiles she doubled herself, she had Dodrio fly at the air towards Nidorino, launching wind and special attacks at him from a distance. Meanwhile, Nidorina and her clone and quickly plowed past Slowbro and Ryhorn, hitting them with a good few hits, and then closing in on Nidorino.

"I would have eliminated Nidorino's partners in a more permanent fashion if I were in her position," Jaquie commented. "But Nidorina seems to like to blitzkrieg the leader."

"Not a very good strategy," Jared said.

"No, it is. It might even be effective if Nidorino were the leader. But he isn't. And I've already given Ryhorn and Slowbro their orders."

Jared looked at her.

Ryhorn drilled his horn deep into the ground until it split into a deep fissure attack, right underneath Nidorino. At the same time, Slowbro used a surf attack to fill the fissure with water. Nidorino splashed into the river and disappeared.

"Woah," said Jared. "Advanced technique."

"Now let's see if Nidorina pursues him."

Nidorina and her clone dove into the water. Dodrio went after Ryhorn.

"It looks like she's splitting her forces," said Jared.

"Not really. She's still focusing the brunt of her attack on Nidorino. Her usual strategy." Jaquie nodded at her other pokemon. "Slowbro, Ryhorn, you know what to do."

Slowbro teleported away. Faint sparks of electricity began to sizzle around Ryhorn's horn.

"What the...?" said Jared.

"Wait until Dodrio is close enough," Jaquie advised.

Thunder filled the air and skimmed the surface of the water, causing the whole fissure to explode with electricity. Chunks of dirt and dollops of water flew into the air. Dodrio, already stunned by the electricity, maneuvered to avoid the onslaught of elements. But it was far worse for Nidorina. She and her clone burst out of the water in pain and fell to the floor. The clone fizzled away, but Nidorina could not avoid the rain of rocks that flew upon her.

"How did-?" Jared began.

"Now let's see how well Nidorina does when her own strategy is used against her," Jaquie said. "Nidorino, Slowbro, Ryhorn, you know what to do."

The three surrounded her.

"Would you please explain what just happened?" Jared said.

"Slowbro teleported into the water, found Nidorino, and teleported out. Ryhorn used mimic to copy Slowbro's thunder attack. Normally his thunder would be ineffective, but since water conducts electricity only a little is needed. Nidorina, in the water, took the whole painful blast. Dodrio got too close and took some of the electricity as well."

"You had this all planned out in advance?" Jared was awestruck. "How'd you know what Nidorina was going to do?"

"I didn't," Jaquie said. "This was one of several scenarios I went over with my pokemon this morning. Now, if you'll excuse me, this is the dangerous portion of the battle and I need to concentrate."

So Jared shut his mouth and watched.

Nidorina screamed as the pokemon fell upon her, but it was neither a shriek of pain nor of horror. It was a command. As the pokemon surrounded her, Dodrio flew in and picked her up into the air a few feet.

"A retreat?" wondered Jaquie.

Nidorina yelled again. AShe and Dodrio aimed their heads at the ground. Twin hyper beams expoded into a ball of white light so intense it caused the wind to whip back and chards of the ground to fly in all directions. Jared covered his head.

"An attack." Jaquie nodded. "A retreat wouldn't be her style."

Dodrio, straining under the weight, let Nidorina drop. She slumped to the ground, exhausted. Ryhorn and Slowbro were also wiped out. Only Nidorino, who had reflected, was left in perfect condition.

"All right, that's enough battle. Nidorina, Slowbro, Ryhorn, Dodrio, all return." She turned to Jared. "Would you mind putting these into the pokemon healing machine for me?"

"Sure," he replied.

When he came back, he saw Nidorino standing not 50 feet from Jaquie, shooting pin missiles at her face. Jaquie calmly aimed her revolver. Blam, blam, blam. The blasts of the ice sent the missiles spinning away. As Jaquie reloaded, she glanced at the three-way battle happening between Tauros, Jynx, and Pidgeot.

"Come down from the air, Pidgeot. You're not going to do any damage if you don't get closer. Tauros, reflect. Jynx, use lovely kiss."

"What are you doing?" Jared asked.

"I'm trying to see how well I can concentrate on multiple tasks at once."

"So you're training yourself?"

"You could call it that." Jaquie turned back to Nidorino. "Nidorino, this time use substitute and charge at me. Jared, you might want to stay back."

Nidorino's clone was much smaller than Nidorina's. In this more traditional version of substitute, all the clone did was stay in front of the pokemon and block the attack. Which, in the case of Nidorino, meant twirling and twisting in fantastic somersaults.

It was enough to throw off Jaquie's aim. She missed twice, cursed under her breath, and hit the clone on her third try but didn't break it. By then Nidorino was almost on top of her. He leapt at her throat, but Jaquie dodged, and he flew past her. She held her revolver straight up and hit the clone a second time. The clone dissolved. Nidorino landed, panting for breath.

"Very good." Jaquie reloaded her revolver. "Now, let's try it again."

Jared went back to his regular seat atop the log. He found a clipboard just underneath, filled with pages of Jaquie's notes, including possible collaborations in battle, ideas on how to improve weaknesses, and various strategies. He skimmed the page on Nidorina.

_Nidorina: strenths: agility, spec. attacks, acuracy, speed, endurance, retreat, also, good tolarance for pain, stratigest, quick learner, ditermined, adaptable. Weaknesses: __defence__, why is she so rebelious?_

"You know, Jaquie, I have a couple ideas to help get Nidorino to obey." Jared glanced up.

Twelve Nidorinos charged at Jaquie from all directions. She shot down six of the double attack while running, reloaded, and fired again. Six more Nidorinos dissolved into air.

"What?" she said tensely.

"Uh, bad time?"

"No, it's a good time. I'm going to take a break now."

She withdrew her newly healed pokemon and told all of them they were entitled to a break. As they milled around the grass, Jaquie sat down on the log next to Jared. "So, what ideas do you have?"

"You work too hard, you know that?" Jared remarked. "You need a vacation."

"Is that your advice?"

"No. Well, actually..." Now he thought about it, it didn't sound like a bad idea. "Yes, that's my advice. Relax. Get to know your pokemon. As the saying goes, all work and no play-"

"I don't care how dull I become," Jaquie interrupted. "I have a headquarters to defend and I still need to figure out a way to rescue Meowth. I don't have time to relax."

"But why do you need to work all the time? Your pokemon are well-trained, your strategies are brilliant. What's the problem?"

"Brilliant?" Jaquie laughed and it was a bitter sound. "It took me an hour to think up that fissure/ water/ electricity trick and another hour to teach it to my pokemon. That's the kind of time I don't have in a real battle. And even then, I didn't foresee Nidorina using two hyper beams to disable my pokemon."

"I think you're being too hard on yourself."

"If I didn't push myself I'd be weak and lazy and incapable of anything. I wouldn't be second in command of Team Rocket. I would just be-"

Jaquie didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she put her hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut as though she had an enormous headache.

"I really think you need a vacation, Jaquie," Jared said. "You're stressing out. And-"

A shrill cry from Nidorino cut him off. Jared looked over to see Pidgeot and Nidorina flying up above the forest.

"And it doesn't help that _she_ keeps trying to run away," Jaquie said through clenched teeth. "Nidorino."

Some fancy teleportation and one brutal battle later, and the escape was quelled. Nidorina and Pidgeot went back inside their pokeballs.

"And you don't think you're brilliant," Jared said.

Jaquie shook her head. "It's getting dark. We'd better get inside."

"Fine," he said, "maybe then you can get some rest."

"Maybe," Jaquie said.

Inside there would be fights between Karen and Kris and Jesse and James. There would be notes to review and strategies to form. And in the midst of all of this, there was still the plan, the one plan, the only plan that mattered. The plan to to take over Team Rocket. Jaquie rubbed her forehead. It still needed perfecting.

. . .

The conquest had begun, and Gadara could do nothing to stop it. She'd given Jesse and James her word that she wouldn't attack Team Rocket, a promise Gadara fully intended to keep-at least until she had sufficient troops to break it. Nor could she ask the other city-states for help, not since she was openly deceiving them. All she could do was wait.

She listened to the reports her spies sent her. Comforted the victim's family. Heard from Jesse and James the tales of Jaquie's enslavement, told so casually it made Gadara feel cold and sick with fury all at once.

"She's captured five pokemon now, I think," James said. "A Pidgeot, two Tauros, a Jynx, and a Magneton."

"Yes, that sounds about right. It's the same number of missing pokemon reports I've received lately." Gadara bit her tongue to keep the anger out of her voice.

"She'll capture more. She always does." Jesse sounded almost bored. "When she was a kid she started an entire crime wave by herself."

"A crime wave?" Gadara asked.

Meowth picked up the tale after Jesse. He told in straight detail about how she marked her victims by day, stole them by night, how she like a shadow vanished from place to place leaving little clue as to her identity, stirring people into panic and paranoia at this invisible force that struck and stole and left only sorrow behind...

"Thank you," Gadara said, interrupting half-way through his story. "I get the point."

"But that was before we even joined Team Rocket," James added. "It was before she taught at the Team Rocket school, before she became second-in-command. She was just a normal member then."

"Why couldn't we ever do that?" Jesse said bitterly. "She taught us. Why were we always the losers and she was always the winner?"

"Do you think time has diminished her skill?" Gadara asked.

"You mean is Jaquie rusty? I doubt that." Jesse rolled her eyes in disgust. "She's always so good at everything. Anyway, she seems to be doing a good job of capturing your pokemon."

"Yes, she is."

Fear was growing like a canker. The graphic details of Meowth's story were still fresh in her mind. Suddenly Gadara had a vision of her land in desolation, pokemon living in terror, children crying as their parents were torn from their grasp. When Gadara spoke again, her voice was hollow.

"Make her stop."

Jesse, James, and Meowth all guffawed. Gadara looked them straight in eye.

"Make her stop," she repeated.

The laughter abruptly died off. Now their expressions twisted into confusion.

"You want us to tell Jaquie to stop capturing pokemon?" James asked.

"Impossible,"Jesse said.

"She's your sister," Gadara said. "Reason with her."

"But we're just the stowaways," James said. "We aren't even part of Team Rocket anymore and she's-"

"The one who started it all," finished Jesse. "She's the one who made Team Rocket. She's the toughest trainer there is. She's the one who captured hundreds and thousands of pokemon-"

"And she's not going to capture any more!" Gadara exploded. "Not from my land! You're the diplomats-do your job! Tell her that if she doesn't stay away from my people, she'll be the one stuffed into a pokeball!"

A silence spread across the room.

"Was that a threat?" Jesse crossed her arms.

"You promised," James said. "You promised that you wouldn't attack us."

"And I won't," Gadara said, struggling to regain her composure. "But understand this: I have no intention of making my island into the scene of Jaquie's next crime wave. Either you get her to stop or I'll ask the other city-states for help. They aren't restricted by promises, and I can't guarantee that their reaction to humans will be quite as... welcoming."

A look came into Jesse's eye and a small smile flitted across her lips. "You're bluffing."

"You think so?"

"You don't want the other city-states to know about us. In fact, you've made every effort to ensure they don't. That's why you blocked the roads and won't let them come in or out. And you have pokemon watching us all the time, all around our headquarters."

Gadara startled. "How do you know that?"

"I have my sources," she said mysteriously. "And I know exactly what you're up to. You watch us because you want to be sure the other city-states don't see us. Because-because-" Jesse's eyes went bright. "Because you broke the Alliance Obligation. Didn't you?"

_End this conversation now_. Zeroun's voice was suddenly in Gadara's head. _End it before she questions why you broke it_.

"You didn't tell them about us like you're supposed to. And now you're covering it up." Jesse was gleeful. "You can't tell them that you you broke the Alliance Obligation. You can't make us do anything about Jaquie."

"I violated the Alliance Obligation for your own protection," Gadara quickly lied. "But if you're going to use my kindness against me, perhaps I should not be so kind. Whatever punishment I face for lying, it's far milder than watching my citizens get captured."

"Then go ahead and tell them," said Jesse, growing bolder and ruder.

_End this conversation_, pressed Zeroun.

"This meeting is over." Gadara left the room.

. . .

She had won. She, Jesse-not Jaquie-had just beaten a leader pokemon at her own game. James and Meowth stared at her as Gadara stormed out. Jesse enjoyed their stunned expressions, bathed in their looks of awe.

"Wow," whispered James. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"It wasn't even like you were yourself," Meowth said. "It was like you were someone else. Someone like..."

"Jaquie," they both finished together.

Jesse beamed and tossed her hair. "I think that was better than anything Jaquie could do."

While Jesse was gorging her ego, James and Meowth had time to enjoy their own happiness. Dismissed from Gadara's council, they had the day to themselves, and while Jesse spun and danced in giddy self-esteem, James and Meowth walked into a nearby park.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we could live here?" Meowth said.

"Here? In this fair and flawless Utopia?" James said poetically.

The ground was soft with grass and speckled with bright, friendly flowers. Though the sky was hot and cloudless, the shadows of leafy trees gave them some relief from the sunshine. A few water pokemon practiced their attacks, watering the ground as they did so.

"Well, it sure would be nice to stay here," James said. "But it's not like we could. We're Team Rocket. We don't belong here."

"I guess," said Meowth. "Although we were fired," he added hopefully.

"But we're going to be hired back as soon as we get enough pokemon to give to the boss." James sighed heavily.

"Yeah," said Meowth without enthusiasm. "We'll be the greatest criminals of all time."

The birds were singing peacefully. A couple of young Rattattas and a Pikachu ran through the grass, laughing. A pair of love-struck Butterfree fluttered in the sky. Further off, underneath the shade of a tree, a Golduck was absorbed in a book. Everything was peaceful and happy.

"We're Team Rocket," repeated James. "We lie, we steal,we cheat. We are evil criminals."

"We don't belong here," Meowth agreed.

They both sighed.

. . .

Gadara sat in her study with her head in her hands. The situation with the humans was spiraling out of control. Jesse had guessed too much, and she wasn't the only one. The city-dwellers had already petitioned for an explanation. And the other city-states were refusing to let the matter drop.

"Still no traces of the humans?" Kolb had asked her acerbically yesterday, during yet another meeting.

"Traces, but no humans," Gadara had replied tiredly.

"I'm surprised that in your own territory and with all the resources you possess, you've had yet to find three little humans. Are you even looking?"

Gadara kept her thoughts and mouth silent.

"Kolb has a point," said Shalimar, the mayor of the Northeastern Beaches. "Although he could put it in a less accusing way."

This petite, newly-elected Vaporeon was bright-eyed and idealistic. Initially, Gadara thought she'd be easy to manipulate. As it turned out, her pretty way of talking made her a dangerous opponent.

"Let us help you in your search," Shalimar said gently. "We have given you your chance, but if these humans remain as elusive as you say, then perhaps it's time to put pride aside. What good has this separation achieved?"

"Yes," commented Vannack, the Onix mayor of the Southeastern Fields. "It almost seems like you're hiding something."

"You know that's not permitted," Gadara said neutrally.

"It's not a question of trust," Shalimar quickly put in. "Rather, it's a matter of cooperation. Time, I'm afraid, is against us, and we cannot let these humans slip away again. An island-wide effort is needed."

"And what if they've already left," Gadara suggested.

"That's another thing," added Enki, a Scyther and the mayor of the Western Plains. "I'm really quite surprised that in all these thirty years the humans have been absent from us, we've never made another effort to contact them."

"It's a sign," Vannack agreed. "If the humans are indeed gone, we should leave this island and go look for them. A sea voyage. Shalimar's swimmers can lead it."

Gadara felt herself grow alarmed. "You assume the humans are benevolent. But several of my citizens have gone missing since they've arrived, and I've heard rumors that this is the human's doing. Witnesses say they come out of nowhere, beat up innocent pokemon, and capture them using little round spheres. Perhaps we ought to think about whether we want them on our island. Perhaps, it would be better to send them on their way."

Shalimar, Enki, and Vannack all looked satisfactorily horrified.

"Is that why you hesitate to produce these humans?" Kolb was unmoved. "I say we give you three days to get your story straight. Then we open the borders again and send our search parties into your land. And, by the way, the spheres you referred to are known as pokeballs. They're part of an ancient ritual, a method of spiritually bonding human and pokemon together."

"Kolb has a point," Enki said. "We really cannot judge these humans until we at least talk to them. By jumping to conclusions, we set ourselves up for misunderstanding."

"I second that," Vannack said.

But it was Shalimar who, by and far, delivered the most inspiring speech. "When the humans first came to this island we were a low and barbaric species, waging continuous war on one another, living in fruitless ignorance. The humans changed us. No matter what they've become, it's our duty to stand by them, to teach them as they once taught us."

There was no point in arguing. The bias towards humans was too strong, and nothing Gadara said could change that. She had one day left before the other leaders discovered the truth. She was out of time and trapped in her a web of her own lies.

_Are you ready to listen to my advice?_ Zeroun floated into the chair beside her.

"Yes," Gadara said. "What should I do?"

_Tell them the truth_.

She sighed.

_You can start out small. Introduce them to Jesse, James, and Meowth. Let those three tell the council about Team Rocket and Jaquie. If she's as evil as you believe, perhaps you can convince the council that peace with the humans wouldn't be for the best. You only need persuade two to have a majority_.

"I'm not Shalimar. I have no gift with words. I wouldn't be able to persuade one, even though I know I'm right-"

_But are you_? said Zeroun. _You haven't even attempted to talk with Jaquie. You don't even know if she can be reasoned with, let alone all humans_-

"I know!" said Gadara in a mighty, rumbling voice. "I've seen how humans behave! Jesse and James are sweet in their own way, but even they've done terrible things without the slightest trace of remorse. I don't hate humans, whatever anyone may think, but I don't trust them. I've seen their culture. It's awash with this 'ancient ritual' as Kolb calls it, awash with ways of dominating pokemon. They may think of pokemon as friends, but never as equals. Never as beings worthy of making their own decisions. If they were to come here, they would spread their corruption to us, enslaving us with their compassionate greed. I know, Zeroun, and I won't question that."

_But if you won't talk to the council, how will __they__ ever know? If you don't tell them the truth, they'll find out and everything you say to them will be discredited. You may not trust humans, but they're pokemon. You have to trust them, Gadara. You have no other choice_.

A silence spread across the room, as far reaching as the midnight sky. From the window came sounds of laughter and music. The city-unaware of dangers, unaware of decisions, unaware of prices and consequences and risks and trust-lapsed into a carefree celebration of this beautiful night.

"Contact them," Gadara said.


	26. Chapter 24: To Protect the World from

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 24

**To Protect the World from Devastation**

. . .

. . .

The plan was simple. If Jesse and James could pass themselves off as diplomats, so could Karen and Kris.

"The Northern Shore is the closest city-state." Karen stared at the map of the island Jaquie had drawn. "My best guess, it's ten miles from headquarters. Too far to teleport. So instead, I'll have Tunneler make a passage underground. We can ride Accelerator through the tunnel and get there in relatively good time, perhaps a half hour or so."

Kris nodded from deep within his books. "Sounds good to me. This is what I've worked out for our story. Tell me what you think. Jaquie was next in line to be queen-"

"Queen?" Karen asked skeptically.

"Just go with it. So, Jaquie was made queen amid a glorious revolution. She promised peace and tolerance initially, but later in her reign, she abolished freedom of speech and freedom of religion-"

"What?" said Karen.

"-and began to burn thousands at the stake, believing it was God's will to purge the kingdom of heretics-"

"Kris, where are you getting this from, a comic book?"

"A history book," Kris said indignantly. "Queen Mary's reign. You know, Bloody Mary?"

"A game you play with a mirror at sleepovers?"

Kris rolled his eyes. "Pathetic. Mary was a devout Catholic, not a witch. Ruined her kingdom, killed her subjects, all in the five years she was queen. And we can turn her into Jaquie if we want to."

"I don't like the idea," Karen said bluntly. "It doesn't seem plausible to me. But as long as you're the one persuading them, you can tell them what you want."

"Well, actually," Kris said, "I was thinking that you could be the one to tell them."

"Me?" Karen said. "I have to tell them now? This is _your_ plan."

"I know. But, see, it's just that if we really want it to make them feel outraged, well, I just think it would be better for a girl to tell them our story, since girls can cry and get really emotional-"

"I don't cry," Karen cut him off icily. "Why don't you do it. You're a good actor."

"I can't cry. I'd look like a wimp."

"Oh, so it's okay for me to look like a weakling, but you-"

"They won't think you're weak, they'll just think you're a girl."

Karen narrowed her eyes. "So girls are weak?"

"You're twisting my words," Kris said angrily. "I didn't say they were weak, I said they could cry and no one thinks less of them for it. When girls cry, people just feel sorry for them. When guys cry, people laugh at them for being wusses, you know, like how James is. Oh, I don't know how to explain it, but girls can get emotional, guys can't. As a girl, you can get everyone emotionally tied to our story. You don't have to throw a fit or anything, just act sad and hurt, like a wronged victim."

Karen pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "But I'm not-"

"And it's not just that you're a girl," Kris said, interrupting her before he got sucked back into the futile argument. "People trust you more than they do me."

"They trust me?" Karen said incredulously.

"Sure they do. I mean, first of all you look harmless-and don't argue with me, because you do, even if you aren't, and yes, I'm well aware that you aren't. I see the way people look at me. When you go into stores, salesmen swarm around you, ready with clothes and make-up and bottles of perfume. When I go into stores, they guard their cash registers."

"So what? Those are people, _salespeople_, no less, and these are pokemon."

"It doesn't matter. There's just something honest about you. Don't ask me to explain; that's just how you come off. Like you would never stab someone in the back, like you would never say something you didn't mean, like you had some sort of profound sense of honor. You know?"

Karen said nothing, but pulled her arms into her chest.

"Anyway, I know you could pull this off," Kris said. "You've become an expert at acting sweet and innocent."

Kris was referring to the act Karen put on to lure in unsuspecting targets. She already had the looks but when she poured on the charm, boys flocked to her as though hypnotized. Sometimes Karen used her skills to bring male trainers into an ambush Kris had set for them. Sometimes she used it just for fun.

"It's no different with pokemon than with guys," Kris concluded.

"Gee, I have to tell them our sob story and charm them into trusting us," Karen said, with an edge of sarcasm. "Tell me please what it is you will be doing?"

Kris shrugged. "I'll be you're back up."

Karen laughed in a terse, ironic way.

"Besides, once they do trust us, I can whip them into a frenzy and lead them into an attack. You do most of the work in the beginning, and I'll take over towards the end."

"All right, fine, I'll tell them the dumb story. But it had better not be about Mary, Queen of Scots."

"Bloody Mary. She was English."

"English, Scottish, Chinese, Brazilian-I don't care what she was, she is not Jaquie and I am not going to try to explain a history I know nothing about."

"Fine." Kris sighed. "I'll think of something else."

"Think quickly; I want a good story by tomorrow when we meet with them."

"I'll work on it tonight. Neither of us have watch tonight. By the way, have you figured out a way we can hide that hole you're going to dig."

"Yeah. When we were out with Jaquie this morning looking for pokemon, I found the perfect secluded place near a waterfall."

"Oh, yeah, I remember the place," Kris said. "But I don't think we should go there. Pokemon are watching us."

"WHAT?"

"I thought I'd mention it," Kris said casually. "There are always pokemon watching us when we're outside. There were three Spearows that I counted staring at us in your so-called 'secluded place'."

"And when were you going to tell me?" Karen bristled.

"Uh, now?"

"Just now? The day before we go on the mission you decide to tell me, the person in charge of transportation, that there are spies watching us."

"Well, I forgot, okay? Besides, I thought you would have seen them."

"No, Kris, I didn't. _My_ father didn't take me on hunting trips every month from the time I was six. He might have taken my brothers once, I don't know, but never me."

"I'm _sorry_," Kris replied, not without hints of sarcasm in his voice as well. "But I don't see what the big deal is. We can just stay here, inside the headquarters. So far as I know the pokemon don't come around here much."

"We can't dig a hole inside the headquarters," said Karen. "Someone will notice."

"Who? Jesse and James are always away. Jaquie always goes off training in the afternoon."

"Jared sometimes comes back. He might get suspicious seeing a large hole in the headquarters."

"So we'll cover it up. One of us can stay here."

Karen paused. "So then... not knowing if they're really peacefully, not knowing for sure that Gadara hasn't told them about us... the other one will have to talk to the pokemon... alone."

There was hesitation in her voice. She tried to hide it behind her tough exterior, but Kris knew at once that she was afraid, that she didn't want to be the one to go. He quickly tried to backpetal.

"I can be the one to go," he said.

"And do what?" Karen replied, clearly not buying it. "I'm the one who has to get them to trust us; I'm the one who has to tell them our story. You said so yourself."

"Yeah, but I planned to be there with you. I can go instead."

Karen just shook her head.

"No, seriously." Kris' voice rose with his anger. "You think I want to stay here? And do what? Play cards with the traitor? No. I'll just end up worrying about..." He abruptly stopped.

"I'll try not screw up the plan," Karen reassured him.

"I'm not talking about the-oh never mind. The point is, you're better off at being back up."

"The point is, I'm the one they're more likely to trust. Do you want this to succeed or not?"

"Of course I want it to succeed!" Kris yelled. "I don't want to let slip the one chance we have to get even with Jaquie."

A flame passion leapt into his eyes. "I hate her," he hissed. "She thinks she's so damned superior all the time. She thinks we're worthless idiots. I'll show her!"

Then he looked at Karen and his rage melted away. "But you don't want to go. I can tell, you're absolutely terrified of doing this alone."

"Of course, I am," Karen said. "I don't like going into situations where I don't know what to expect. And I don't like lying. But I'm better suited. So I'll go."

. . .

When Karen made a decision she stuck with it. It made no difference whether that decision made her feel nauseated; she simply swallowed her doubts and kept herself busy with plans. That night, while Kris was still worrying about what story to tell, Karen rummaged through her clothes drawer-a crate of course-for something to wear for negotiations.

"What about this one," Kris said. "The new republic was in a severe financial depression because of a war reparations. Jaquie was elected to power with promises of prosperity and immediately began to build vehicles of warfare-"

"Are you sure your not just making these things up?" Karen held up two sweaters. "And which color do you think I should wear: the blue or the brown?"

"Hitler's rise to power: 1933-1939. Jeez, Karen, don't you know _anything_ about history?" Kris glanced at the sweaters. "And I'd go with the blue. The brown one makes you look like an old bag lady."

"Always so sweet." Karen put aside the brown sweater. "If you're going to make up a story about Jaquie, try sticking to the truth rather than delving into historical accounts."

"History is realistic and besides, I'm good at it. And why are you spending so much time on how you're going to look? It's not the prom, you know."

"First of all, you may be good at history, but I'm not. I'll mix up the facts and screw things up and the story will make no sense. And secondly, it may not be the prom, but first impressions are everything. If I come up to them drenched in black, toting around a bazooka, they might be a bit suspicious. I have to look sweet and innocent land all that other garbage."

"Maybe I should tell them Jaquie used crime to steadily gain money and power. That would be truthful." Kris jotted down some notes on a piece of paper. "Yeah, I'll go with that."

Karen set a small hand mirror on her dresser crate and began playing with her hair. "I should probably wear my blue contacts. They match my sweater."

"Yeah. And you should keep your hair down. It makes you look angelic, all curly and golden and everything."

Karen took out her ponytail and shook out her hair. "Normally it's curly. Ever since I've been on the island though it's been impossibly frizzy. It must be the humidity."

"So fix it," Kris said.

"I would if I had a curling iron."

"What, Miss Always Prepared forgot to pack it."

"Miss Always Prepared was not expecting to have to worry about her looks on an island filled entirely with pokemon. No curling iron, no hair spray, no make-up, no dresses-all of which I could have used. I didn't think I'd need them."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. There aren't any department stores here for you to pick that stuff up at. You could ask the pokemon if you could borrow that stuff, but I doubt they'd have it."

"I'll make do with contacts and jeans and sweater," Karen said, blowing out a sigh.

She began to brush her hair, fluffing it up elegantly around her face. Kris watched in mild fascination as she transformed a tangled mess into a frizzy veil that floated around her face, but Karen, apparently, was not satisfied; she scowled at her reflection and turned the mirror upside down.

Meanwhile Kris had a thought, and it grew on him during the night. The next morning, he managed to sneak away for a few minutes after lunch.

Karen didn't really notice. She was too busy feeling worried about the whole situation. Worried and tired. She'd been getting, on average, three to four hours of sleep a night, and only two and a half hours last night. _I could use some make-up to cover the bags under my eyes. _She opened the door to her room.

Atop her neatly folded blue sweater was a make-up case. And a curling iron. And a bottle of hair spray.

"Surprise!" Kris said, coming into the room. "Sorry, but she didn't have any dresses. She had some skirts, but they wouldn't fit you."

"She?" said Karen. "Kris, who'd you steal this from? Not Jaquie?"

"Duh. I wouldn't even go into her room to look. Guess again."

"Well, there's only three 'she's on this island: me, Jaquie, Jesse... You stole this from _Jesse_?"

Much as she tried to disguise it, Kris caught Karen's smile. It made him puff up with pride. "You would not believe the vanity of that girl. Stowing away on a boat to go on a deserted island... and she brings her entire make-up kit! But so much the better for you."

"I don't know if I should use it, though. It might stir up some trouble."

"It's _Jesse_," Kris said. "She's not bright enough to figure anything out for herself."

"All right, but if anyone asks about this it's_ your_ fault."

"As always," Kris grinned and bowed.

Karen allowed herself to smile. "Now get out," she ordered, shoving him playfully out of the room. "I need to get dressed."

Kris waited impatiently outside the door for forty-five minutes before Karen came out. "Finally! You could have at least left me my cards before you kicked me out."

"Sorry," Karen said. "But I needed to sanitize all of Jesse's stuff before I could use it."

The blue sweater was sleek and clingy on her slight frame. She had on light blue jeans and brown boots and a brown leather belt wrapped around her slim waist, all of which made her look calm and sensible. Her hair had settled around her face in soft, dripping curls, looking as Kris had predicted very angelic. Her make-up, if she wore any at all was light and natural looking, and the one unnerving thing that Kris could see was that her eyes were a pale blue instead of their usual intense brown. But all in all, the effect she wanted was produced; she looked very delicate and innocent in a down-to-earth sort of way which Kris found very attractive.

"A well-spent forty-five minutes," teased Kris. "Now you look slightly less horrible than you did before."

"Always the charmer, Kris," remarked Karen, tossing out her Dugdrio. "Tunneler, dig."

As she watched the pokemon delve into the earth, Kris noticed that Karen's face had become blank. There was a slightly strangled expression in her eyes and she was squeezing her hands tightly together.

Kris put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

But he already knew the answer, as soon as he touched her. He could feel Karen, tense and shaking slightly, was not okay.

"Fine," Karen said. "I'm going to meet pokemon who could kill me as soon as look at me, somehow get them to trust me, and probably ruin everything anyway, so, yeah, I'm perfect."

"You won't ruin anything," Kris soothed. "Look, I have faith in you."

"Those kind of comments just make things harder," Karen muttered.

"Well, would you rather I tell you you're going to screw up?"

"I'd rather you just be quiet," Karen said.

So Kris shut up. Dugdrio returned. Karen broke away from Kris, called out her Rapidash, and climbed on top of it. The sun caught her hair and reflected its color back, dazzlingly golden, and for just a moment Kris thought she looked like some sort of war-queen, perfectly erect and poised atop her white and flame-colored horse. Her face, grim, was hidden behind her curtain of curls. As Rapidash leapt underground, she vanished like a tear drop falling from the eye.

"Good luck," Kris called out cheerfully as he watched her go.

But inside he felt quite differently. It was obvious that Karen hadn't wanted to go, but he had forced her into it. It was his fight, and she was the one taking the risks, while he was stuck in the safety of headquarters. It should have been the other way around.

_Damn Karen_, he grumbled to himself as he began to fill up the hole. _Makes me feel guilty without saying a word. There's nothing to feel guilty about. These pokemon are peaceful. They won't hurt her. It's not like I actually put her in danger_.

So why did it feel like he was burying his best friend?

. . .

The ride through the tunnel was far from smooth. Rapidash's hooves would occasionally land awkwardly on the loose gravel, jarring Karen from her mount. There was blackness ahead and blackness behind, blackness everywhere except for what was right around her. Rapidash's fire mane would illuminate the tunnel walls: rough, brown, narrow, eerily shadowed for just that moment; then he'd flash past and that piece of the tunnel would melt into blackness again. All happening so quickly that Karen felt dizzy from the change.

Eventually, though, the darkness dimmed and the air grew fresh. Sunlight came streaming up ahead. Karen wished that the journey through the tunnel didn't have to end so soon. Her stomach churned. Rapidash jumped, up and up, and burst majestically out of the earth.

Karen sat blinking in the white-yellow sunlight. She was in a large grassland, almost a prairie, but greener and with small hills occasionally interrupting the flat land. Trees straggled out of the ground, thin, pale, and tough-like Karen herself. Hardy yellow flowers and small pink clovers adorned the grass. But no pokemon. Karen jumped off her Rapidash and turning her head to and fro, but she couldn't see a single one.

The pokemon-mostly Pidgeys, Caterpies, and Rattattas-were hidden in the grass. As soon as they saw her leap from the hole, they dove for their burrows. Now, they watched in fear and awe as she sashayed through the field. A human. A creature of legend from ages long past. They stared. And when she raised a sphere, uttered a spell, and made her steed disappear in a glow of red, they lost their breath in disbelief.

Karen was becoming quite flummoxed. According information she had gathered from Jaquie's expedition and James' videos, she should be at the edge of the Northern Shore's border, just slightly within their territory. So, assuming she was in the right place, where were all the pokemon?

Karen walked around for a while. Jaquie had mentioned something about the meeker tendencies of the pokemon in other city-states. Listening more carefully, she could hear noises: the slight rustling of grass, the swaying of leaves, the sounds of nature. But unlike Kris, she didn't know what any of it meant, whether the sounds came from the breeze or the pokemon. For all she knew there may have been a swarm of camouflaged pokemon around her... or none at all.

Actually there were only about two dozen pokemon spread across the field and they scampered stealthily away whenever she came near them. They watched her as she walked. She carried herself with such grace and confidence. Her blue eyes very intense, she inspected the field with purposeful majesty.

Karen wandered around, searching futilely for pokemon, feeling like a child abandoned in a game of hide-and-seek. She wished Kris were there; at least he would have been able to find someone. She was essentially useless.

She hated that feeling; she hated all these feelings that rising like a scream inside her. Panic. Doubt. That general anxiety of screwing up. This was Kris' fault, damn him, he had pushed her into the situation and left when she needed him the most, when she needed his skill, his charisma, his unwavering belief that everything would work out fine.

The sun beat down against her. Karen took shelter underneath one of the scraggly trees. She needed to take a second to calm herself, to decide what her next move would be. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Karen couldn't see herself, but if she could have, she might have been amazed. The tension in her face eased away and shadow softened her features. Her shoulders were still perfectly straight, her head still held high, but her rigid composure loosened. For a moment she looked peaceful, yet also strong and radiant.

This was how the pokemon saw her. As they stood mesmerized, one bold Rattatta dared to move. With quick, darting movements, he approached her.

Karen, eyes still closed, heard his movement, heard the irregularities of bold dashes from here to there and realized it was a pokemon. Her heart beat faster. Karen slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing the Rattatta did not surprise her, so the pokemon did not see her startle or flinch. She looked down on the small pokemon, paused-here the Rattatta's heart stopped for this was the moment of judgment-and smiled.

Her smile was an act, of course, a way of charming her way into the pokemon's hearts. But it was also real. Real relief, real joy at (finally!) seeing another living creature. And when Karen wanted to, her smile could be dazzling. All at once the other pokemon flew towards her.

Karen slipped easily into her role. She knew how to charm. A mere smile, a warm gesture, and words of sweet nonsense burrowed into the hearts of whomever she directed her affections at. Within a matter of minutes, the pokemon were hers. When she asked to see their leader, they hurried to oblige her.

A few minutes later, a Blastoise and Clefable teleported into the field.

"A human," the Clefable whispered.

Her face was animated and joyful, but Karen could immediately tell that the Blastoise was not so impressed. He stared her unwaveringly in the eyes with such probing weight that a truly fragile girl might have shivered and looked down.

Karen did not. Instead, she stood slowly, letting all the sweet syrupiness fall to the dust and die.

"I assume you're the leader of this province," she said in her own sensible voice.

"I'm the mayor of the Northern Shore, yes." The Blastoise spoke in a thick, rich voice. "My name is Kolb. This is my advisor, Terese." He indicated the Clefable.

"Pleased to meet you both. My name is Karen."

She smiled but didn't know what to say after that. A long, awkward silence ensued.

"Forgive me," said the Blastoise, "but you caught me off guard. I hadn't expected to see any humans here today. All signs indicated they were hiding in Gadara's territory somewhere."

"Perhaps you'd better explain who Gadara is," the Clefable said gently.

"There's no need," Karen said. "Gadara is the Kangaskhan leader of the Southern Tropics. I suspect that, under the terms of the Alliance Obligation, you may wish to contact her. But it's important that you don't-at least, not until you've heard what I have to say."

The pokemon all gaped at her wordlessly. The attention made Karen's palms go sweaty, but she knew she'd done the right thing. As Kris told her last night, better to put all her cards on the table to begin with-it would make her look like an expert. On a more practical level, Karen knew she couldn't let Gadara see her here. If she did, all their plans would fall apart in a heartbeat

Kolb recovered his composure. "How is it that you know so much about us?"

"I've been in Gadara's territory for two weeks," Karen said simply. "I've learned things about your culture. I'd explain more... but I'm not sure this is the right place."

Kolb frowned. "Perhaps, I should summon a decision-Senate."

"Without Gadara," Karen pressed.

The Blastoise hesitated. "She's a member of the Alliance..."

"I have a good reason for excluding her. For the safety of your city-state, do not call her. She's-"

"Enough," said Kolb briskly. "We will speak of such things in private."

And suddenly Karen found herself not in a field, but in room draped in dark blue curtains and ebony panels. Bookshelves overflowed with thick texts. Marble sculptures and austere artwork were strewn throughout the corners and walls of room. Blue cushioned chairs were arranged in the middle of the room, but there was no table. Instead Kolb stood in the middle of the room, eyes closed, hands focused on his temples.

"Where are we?" Karen whispered to Clefable.

"We're in Kolb's study," she replied. "All decision-Senates are held in one of the leader's studies."

"And what's Kolb doing?"

"He's contacting the others."

They arrived within minutes. A Vaporeon and a Golbat. A Scyther and a Ninetails. An Onix and an Eggsecutor. Karen held her breath. _No Gadara, no Gadara_, she silently prayed. But the Kangaskhan and her Alakazam never arrived.

The leaders of the three other city-states and their advisors all stared at her as they came in. The Vaporeon made a small gasp. But it was she who first greeted Karen with polite words.

"Welcome to our island-Karen, is it? I am Shalimar, mayor of the Northeastern Beaches. Forgive me if I am flustered, but I have never seen a human before and hardly dared hope to encounter one in my lifetime. Your presence is a blessing to this island, and I am honored to meet you, I truly am."

"So am I," Karen replied, thinking that this was Shalimar _flustered_?

"Well," Kolb said. "Why don't we start this meeting?"

"Gadara has not yet arrived," Shalimar pointed out.

"Gadara was not invited," Kolb said. "And if you want an explanation, I suggest you look to Karen."

"I asked Kolb not to include her," Karen explained. "You see..."

Her voice faltered. It was hard to stand in this roomful of articulate, intelligent leaders and not feel intimidated in. Karen glanced at Shalimar, who gave her an encouraging smile.

"You see," Karen continued, "my partner Kris and I ran into trouble almost as soon as we landed on this island. We went to explore the jungle... Gadara's territory... just looking around, not harming anyone-when out of nowhere, we were attacked."

"By whom?" asked Shalimar, with concern.

"A Fearow. It cut Kris across the cheek, here, and was trying to sink its beak into his throat. I drove it off and it flew away. Shortly after that, ten Magmars and Machokes charged us and threw us into a slab of rocks. While we were bleeding and nearly unconscious, they came at us with a ring of fire. A few days later, I was poisoned." Karen traced the puncture marks with her finger.

"That's terrible," said Shalimar.

"You think this is Gadara's doing?" Kolb asked.

"I don't doubt it. The groups were very organized, like an army. Later on, our headquarters was invaded by dozens of pokemon. We only survived by being prepared. Either Gadara approved these attacks, or else she's a weak leader with little control over her pokemon."

"I would choose the former," Vannack said. "Gadara has never been weak."

"All these battles and strife." Shalimar shook her head. "Your first two weeks should not have been filled with such pain."

"Is that why you didn't want me to contact Gadara?" asked Kolb. "Because she hurt you?"

"No, it's not that."

So much for breeding sympathy with emotions. Karen told Kris over and over she wasn't good at getting all touchy-feely.

"Here's what the problem is," Karen said bluntly. "First of all, Gadara knew from the start when we came to the island, but I bet she didn't tell you about us until we stepped on your territory-three days later. So right off the bat, she broke the Alliance Obligation-"

"How do you know about the Alliance Obligation?" Enki interrupted. "Did Kolb tell you?"

Kolb shook his head. "She came lecturing _me_ about the Alliance Obligation."

"The reason I know is because for the last week, two human 'diplomats' have been conducting secret meetings with Gadara in Mountaintop City."

"What?" said Shalimar. "She told us she couldn't find anyone."

"Were you one of the diplomats?" Kolb asked Karen.

"I wasn't, no," she admitted. "But James taped the whole thing, and that's how we found out."

The pokemon stared at her blankly. "_Taped_?"

"From a video camera." The confusion thickened. "You don't know what that is? It's a-" Karen tried to picture it in her mind. "It's a piece of technology that looks like a large black box with a lens. When you push a button, you can record images; then you rewind the tape and play it back again."

They continued to stare.

Finally Kolb said, "It is similar to a psychic memory transfer, except it's done using dumb machinery. As such, it does not discriminate on who may view these memories."

Faint nods of comprehension moved among the pokemon. Karen understood nothing, but she went along with it.

"Yes, well, through watching the tapes, er, memories, whatever you want to call them, we pieced together enough information to find out what was going on. We learned about your government."

"But what does this have to do with not contacting Gadara?" Kolb said.

"Well, she violated your most sacred document. Aren't you upset?"

"Oh, believe me, we are," Shalimar said. "This is a severe breech of protocol. But that is why we must contact Gadara immediately. To confront her."

"But remember the two diplomats I told you about-Jesse and James. They're not as innocent as they seem. Jesse is Jaquie's younger sister."

"Who's Jaquie?"

Karen's insides shivered at the betrayal she was about to make. She spat out her next words quickly.

"Jaquie is the leader of Team Rocket, a powerful criminal organization in the human world. Team Rocket steals pokemon and sells them for money or else forces them fight for their master's power. Jaquie is Team Rocket's second in command. She's a tyrant, a dictator, a crime lord-and she's on your island right now."

Karen glanced around the room to see how the pokemon were reacting to the information. They all looked appropriately shocked.

"I think-I think Gadara mentioned something like this," said Shalimar at last.

"No," said Kolb. "Nothing like this."

"And that's why you can't contact Gadara. Right now, Jaquie doesn't know I'm here. But if Jesse tells her... well, it would be bad for me."

"You don't think Gadara's allied herself with Jaquie, do you?" Enki asked. "She would never do that. Gadara has morals and principles."

"Which she's demonstrated by attacking me and lying to you."

Enki faltered.

Karen decided it was time to display some of that female emotion that Kris was so adamant about.

"I don't know for sure that there is some unholy alliance between Jaquie and Gadara," she said softly. "For all I know, Jaquie's manipulating Gadara from the shadows. I wouldn't put it past her. Jaquie is smart and patient and ruthless. I've seen her weave complicated strategies, creating intricate traps that pokemon never see coming. I don't know what she's planning. But I'm worried for you. She's already infected my world with her reign of terror. Who knows what she could do to you."

There was a long, heavy silence. And then, like small drops of rain, the talk began. A few words here, a few words there. Soon they poured from the mouths of the pokemon in a heated discussions, a summer typhoon swirling around the room, louder, louder, louder, crashing against the walls and the ears.

Karen said nothing. Instead she watched at Kolb. The great Blastoise also did not talk. Though he listened to the other mayors debate, his eyes always came back to her, keen and bright and suspicious. It made Karen feel as though he were looking straight into her mind. She knew she was just being paranoid, but even so, she kept her mind as blank as possible, for fear that even her thoughts would betray her.

At last Kolb called for an end of the discussions.

"The points you make are all good ones. Nonetheless, I would like to hear more from Karen-" Here he looked at her in a hard way that set her heart pounding. "-about Jaquie. I want specific details about the threat she presents."

Karen nodded. She had expected this.

"Of course, I'll be happy to tell you. I-"

Karen's head drifted towards the window. Suddenly she shot to attention, eyes widening.

"What is it?" Shalimar said, sensing her panic.

"It's-it's sunset. I have to be back by 6:00-that's the curfew. I can't be late. I'll get in trouble if I'm late."

"Then you won't be." Kolb closed his eyes. "I'll teleport you back now."

As before, the scenery changed sharply. Suddenly, Karen found herself back in the headquarters, in her room, staring at Kris.

He nearly jumped out of his skin. "Jeez, Karen don't do that!"

"Sorry," said Karen. Then, more sarcastically, "I'll try to be less shocking next time I materialize out of thin air."

"It's not that. It's 6:01."

"Only 6:01." Karen let out her breath. "I was afraid I was late."

"You _are_ late. You broke curfew. You could have gotten us in trouble."

Karen stared at him. "_You_ are lecturing _me_ about tardiness. _You_, the one who's always saying, 'Don't worry, we have plenty of time. S so what if we're late, no one will notice.' "

"Yeah, but that's me. You're never late."

"Did Jaquie notice?"

"No. She's outside talking to Jared."

"So then what's the big deal?"

"_I_ noticed. I was afraid you'd been captured or something."

Karen smiled sweetly. "You were worried about me?"

Kris bristled. "No," he said. "I just wanted to know what was going on."

"Surprisingly, everything went smoothly. More or less. Give me a little more time, and I think we'll have them right where we want them."

. . .

"So," Kolb said to the council, after the human left, "was anyone else scanning her thoughts?"

"Sarai was," Vannack said, speaking of his Eggsecutor advisor.

"What did you find out about the story she told us?" Shalimar asked. "Was it accurate?"

"Quite accurate, actually," Kolb replied. "Accurate, but dubious."

"What do you mean?"

"She was withholding information. I saw the events she described with great clarity, but not much as to why they happened or what happened after."

"But the information about Gadara's diplomats?"

Kolb sighed. "Yes, quite accurate."

"And Jesse and Jaquie?"

"Accurate as well."

Shalimar looked at the council. "So what do we do?"

"The situation with Gadara bothers me," Enki said. "To be quite honest, it didn't surprise me that she attacked the humans. But why would she be conferring with them?"

"With them, and not us," Shalimar said. "Two weeks they were there and how long did she sit in our studies and lie to us, saying she knew nothing of them? She threw away the Alliance Obligation-the document on which our entire governing body is based. "

"She may have had a good reason," Kolb said mildly.

"We can speculate the possibilities, but it will only be speculation, because she did not tell us," Shalimar replied. "She may have had a good reason. She may have had a bad reason. But whether right or wrong, _it was not her decision to make_. We have a right to know what was going on and take part in that decision. How long has Gadara assumed that we were too unintelligent or too _idealistic_ to make sound decisions?"

"I think," Vannack said, "that if she chooses to cut us off, why should we hesitate to cut her off?"

"I agree," Enki said. "If she decides to act like a dictator we need to do something to stop her."

"So we should be hypocrites," Kolb said. "She violated the Alliance Obligation and now we should do the same. She decided to isolate herself; now we should cut her off further. That will teach her to be a part of the group."

Silence.

"Well, technically," Vannack said meekly, "it's not against the Alliance Obligation. It says leaders who fail to oblige by it may be punished; it doesn't state how. This could be her punishment."

"It says," corrected Kolb,"that all mayors must confer on important decisions. And until we begin the process of removal, she is a mayor, and this is an important decision."

"But she doesn't need to know right away," Enki said.

"Garada is trying to contact me right now," Kolb replied.

Everyone froze.

"And my decision is to confer with you. Right now we need to put aside the resentment we all feel and act like leaders. We need to decide what's best for the island. Should we tell Gadara or not?"

"Karen explicitly warned us against it, and we cannot disregard such a potent warning," Enki said. "Gadara may be manipulated by Jaquie or tricked by her or, dare I say it, collaborating with her. Frankly, we just don't know. And I don't think we can take that risk."

"I agree," said Vannack. "If Gadara wants to act like a dictator, she can face the consequences for it. She hasn't wanted our opinions all this time, so we won't give them to her. Besides, she's already let her land be contaminated with this threat. Why should we expose ourselves to the same?"

"Shalimar?" Kolb asked.

"Personally, what I would like to do is talk to Gadara and learn the reason for her behavior. But the situation isn't that simple." Shalimar sighed. "For me it all comes down to who I can trust: Karen or Gadara. I neither trust nor distrust Karen, and normally choosing between the two, I would have chosen Gadara. But she has broken my trust and because of that I cannot betray Karen. I vote to exclude Gadara."

"So that's your final decision, then?" Kolb asked.

"Yes," said Vannack and Enki.

"Kolb, what do you have to say?" Shalimar asked.

"If this were my decision, I would have risked confronting her, because once we destroy communication, we will only be left with confusion. But I do not have a say in this decision."

"You get a vote, the same as the rest of us."

"What does my vote matter? You three have all voted and under the Alliance Obligation, I am bound to abide by the majority once a decision is made. I will not contribute to the devaluation of the document by going against the majority. Above all, the government must endure."

Shalimar nodded solemnly.

"So it is decided," she said. "Gadara will contact us one by one and one by one, we will refuse her. She wanted to make the decisions by herself, and so she shall. Because from this moment forward, we are excommunicating her from the Senate."


	27. Chapter 25: To Unite All Peoples Within

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 25

**To Unite All Peoples Within Our Nation**

. . .

. . .

On March 14th, the day after Jesse's victory over the leader of Mountaintop City, the real negotiations began.

First and most conspicuously, Gadara canceled the pleasant city tours and plunged Jesse and James into several hours of intense discussion. She wanted to know if Jesse might arrange an interview with Jaquie without letting her know about Gadara.

The Kangaskhan's manner was as calm and warm as ever. Except for once. Zeroun came into the room and muttered something undecipherable about the other city-states. A gleam of agitation shone in Gadara's eyes.

On March 15th the gleam had grown into several minutes of doubt. Again, there was no tour. This time Gadara incorporated a lecture about diplomatic etiquette between city-states, as well as a long speech about pokemon culture, and, oh, by the way, had they noticed any unusual pokemon around their headquarters lately?

By March 16th she was positively venting.

How was the interview coming along and how come _they_ were ignoring her? What could Gadara do to help Jesse and James with arrangements and what did _they_ think _they_ knew? Why was Jaquie so hesitatant and why were _they_ acting the way _they_ were?

And all the time she spoke the word _they_, she looked not at Jesse and James but at the wall, as though she could see right through it and yet not see it at all.

. . .

On March 14th, the day after Karen's victory over the other four city-state leaders, the real negotiations began.

Karen arrived at the field and was greeted by all four mayors.

"We've cut off all communications with Gadara," Shalimar said.

Karen nodded, with appropriate sobriety.

"Do you realize the enormity of this?" Enki inquired, his eyes drilling into her. "Never before has one city-state refused to communicate with another. Now there are four all boycotting Gadara. Do you realize we have broken three hundred years of tradition to grant you this request?"

"Yes," Karen said simply. "And on behalf of myself and my people I thank you. I sincerely appreciate all the trouble you've gone through."

"We don't want your appreciation," Kolb said tartly. "We want an explanation. I assume you have more thorough reason for making this request of us than the one you gave last time."

"But of course," Karen said smoothly.

Shalimar turned to Kolb. "May I request the meeting take place in my study instead of in yours, today?" she began.

"Actually," Karen said. "I was hoping that you would let me tell my story out here, in the company of these pokemon, your devoted followers." She waved gracefully at them.

Kolb frowned. "Most of them have forgotten the language of humans. They would not understand your words."

"There are parts of my home country where pokemon live wildly, untouched by humans. They don't know the language either, yet we are able to communicate. Please let me try. Perhaps something else-my tone of voice or gestures-may affect them."

Kolb formed a psychic link with Shalimar. _We should not let her stay here. She means to manipulate the masses. She knows they will be much easier to convince than us_.

Shalimar's eyes dulled. _She's right. They can understand her without knowing English_.

_That is why we shouldn't let her speak to them_.

_And that's why we can't. They already know what she asks of us. Her eyes alone draw them in, and her smiles are as inviting as a spring day. If we take her away, they will question us. _

_But we have to. We can take an official vote with Enki and Vannack. That will give us the authority to bring her away from the group_.

Now Karen's blue eyes swept the group. "As leaders, I know you must test me; it's your job, your duty, and I applaud you for doing it so well. Now let me go a step further. Let me be put on trial publicly, openly and democratically. Let the people judge me."

Her speech was both honeyed and blunt, spoken as an eloquent challenge. She did not condescend a smile and gestured little, but her eyes were so intense with power and strength, they shone like the sun.

Enki and Vannack looked into them and melted.

_We've lost them_, Shalimar reported.

Kolb spoke. "Very well, Karen, you shall have your public test. And it shall be a trail by fire, for be assured this will not be easy for you. I will question every aspect of your story until I am sure beyond doubt that you speak the truth."

Kolb had his own power and authority that, for a moment, blasted away at Karen's. The pokemon's eyes briefly drew away from her and onto him. But his authority was aged and frozen, and Karen did not fear him. She cordially bowed her head, her shoulders proud and straight.

"Thank you," she said.

But inwardly Karen felt nowhere near as confident as she appeared. There was so much she had to think about right now: her speech, her motions, her vocal inflections, and they all whirled inside her mind at once.

_Don't think so much, just take a deep breath and do it_. Kris had given her this advice earlier today. At the time she thought it sounded idiotic. Now it was the only thing she could remember.

Karen took a breath. "Once," she said, "we had peace and freedom in our world."

That was the beginning line, she was sure. The exact syntax of the second sentence eluded her.

When Kris first wrote the speech, Karen thought it was too sappy, too vague, too repetitive, and too unfocused. So she revised it. Then he complained it was too dull, too emotionless, too concise, and too confusing. So he rewrote her version and she fixed his. Then they both sat down for the rest of the night and went over every single word. The result was a perfect speech... which Karen could not for the life of her remember.

Fortunately her face remained blank, and her pause came across as suspenseful. Karen improvised as best she could.

"Humans and pokemon have always lived in harmony. Though in our world pokemon are not so advanced as here, nonetheless they play an essential part of our society. We train together and form lifelong partnerships. But that way of life is slowly crumbling away. For Team Rocket has come to power, and their delight is in destroying those bonds of friendship and harnessing the power of pokemon for evil."

"You mentioned all this yesterday," Kolb said.

"I'm just trying to explain the threat to your people," Karen said. "Because, you see, Team Rocket has discovered your paradise and sent their most ruthless tyrant to destroy you. Jaquie is the leader of the expedition and she is-"

"Only Team Rocket has discovered this island?" Kolb interrupted.

The through off Karen's rhythm. "Um, as far as I know, yes."

"Then what are you doing here? You're part of this abomination you claim to abhor, aren't you? You're part of Team Rocket."

For a moment Karen felt panic, then anger flared up in her as she realized that Kolb was feeding off her self-doubt. She hardened the armor around her, and stared directly into Kolb's eyes, willing no negative emotion to leak from them.

"Yes," she said, voice unwavering. "I won't deny it. I am-I was-I used to be a dedicated member of Team Rocket-Jaquie's organized mafia. I committed some horrible crimes which I'm not proud of."

And Karen did regret her crimes. She had always felt a sense of wrong in them and it made her guilty, especially in the beginning. She had to train herself, like Kris, to ignore it.

"If you felt guilty, then why did you commit the crimes?" Kolb asked.

"Because it offered me freedom," said Karen. "And it was the only way I could escape from my family."

"What was wrong with your family?"

Karen bit her tongue. This was not how this was supposed to go. Her family was supposed to be off-limits. But now she had a deeply suspicious Blastoise staring at her and a field full of pokemon gazing up at her. She had to say something. Karen took a deep breath.

"When I was seven, my mom died." Karen glanced away. "My dad started drinking, so my older brother Terrance became the head of the family. Terrance thought it was his duty to protect me. He smothered me in a blanket of security. He dictated how I should dress, what I should watch on T.V., whether I was allowed outside. I was not a responsible, capable person to him. I was just a weak little girl.

For the first time, true emotion reflected on her face. The audience caught it. They caught it in her eyes, that faraway pain once submerged and now resurfacing. They caught it in her lips as she pressed them together, two soft pink petals. They caught it in her expression, that invisible sigh that ran through her body, almost as though she were crumpling inside herself. They caught her emotion-and drank it in greedily.

The only one who didn't seem to catch it was Kolb. "I suppose you expect us to feel sorry for you?"

"Not at all," Karen said. "I'm just trying to explain why I fell into Team Rocket. I felt trapped by my older brother, so I ran away from home. The first night alone, I encountered a rag-tag band of Team Rocket boys who tried to rob. I beat them up, because one of the few things Terrance did permit me to do was practice martial arts. The Rocket grunts were so impressed they took me to see Jaquie. That's how I joined the Team Rocket school."

"So you were brainwashed?" Kolb said.

"No. I knew what I was doing was wrong. But at the time I didn't care. It was my first taste of power. And power is addictive, especially when you haven't had any for so long. You don't want to let it go, so you try to forget right and wrong exists and focus on your own happiness... You see, I'm selfish that way."

"So why do you turn against her now?"

"This time I'm not thinking of myself. Much as it may surprise you, I know right from wrong. I know what I did is wrong."

"Why should we believe you?"

Karen was panicking. Where was Kris when she needed him? Kris. She tried to remember Kris' advice. _Don't think just take a deep breath and do it_.

"Because it's true!" she answered. "I'm a questionable source, fine. But I've seen Jaquie in action and I know she's dangerous. I've seen her weave complicated strategies and coordinate her pokemon with hardly a word. She's captured pokemon from Gadara's land, some of the strongest fighters I've ever seen-"

"But is that illegal?" Kolb interrupted. "Your culture still uses pokeballs. You have them lining your belt."

"That's not the problem," Karen said. "The problem is what Jaquie intends to do with the pokemon once she gets home. If she doesn't sell them outright on the black market, she'll use them to attack innocent humans and rip their beloved pokemon companions from their arms. Let's just hope that greed and theft is as far as she goes. I've seen her try to take over companies and blackmail huge groups of scientists. If she decides she wants more power, she'll get it and leave both our worlds in ruins."

"You're exaggerating."

"I don't think I am." Karen's voice gained confidence. "Team Rocket was an obscure little gang before she got a hold of it. Since then, she's single-handedly raised it to the most feared criminal organization in our land."

"But what does this have to do with us?"

"You can stop her," Karen said. "She's vulnerable here. She doesn't have hundreds of criminals and thousands of enslaved pokemon to back her up."

"Just you."

"She trusts us," Karen admitted. "Wrongly, as it turns out."

Kolb's eyes narrowed. "You could still be working for Jaquie."

"For what possible reason?"

"A civil war with Gadara would deplete both our forces and make us easier to capture."

"But I'm not asking you to attack Gadara," Karen insisted. "I'm asking you to attack Jaquie. Right now, she's infiltrated Gadara's territory and pouring all her focus into that. By ignoring you, she gives us an opportunity. You have enough numbers to wipe her out."

"You're asking us to go to war?"

"I'm asking you to root out a tyrant before she does the same harm to your world that she did to mine."

"You try to sound noble-" Kolb began.

"No I don't," Karen interrupted. "I am past trying to sound noble. You know what I am and you must think of me, at worst a spy, at best a traitor. I am not a spy. When I say I need you to help us defeat Jaquie, I mean that and only that. But," she added in a quieter voice, "I am a traitor. I won't deny that. I betrayed my leader, and, dictator though she may be, she was still my leader. She taught me and gave me a home. But I turn against her now because I... I have to," she concluded weakly.

And even in this last sentence, there was power, a phenomenal strength in her weakness. Karen was drained, and her shoulders sloped wearily. She was like a traveler who endured many travails and would endure many more. Her voice rang with truth. There was danger in the world, and Karen needed them to fight it. Suddenly all the pokemon in field felt a new power within themselves and hungered to use it for good.

Only Kolb was not impressed. "You seem to like talking about yourself. You assume we all care."

Karen looked up. "No," she said softly, "I don't suppose you do. So I'll conclude this way. Up until now, you've been lucky enough to live in a world without Team Rocket. But if you let Jaquie escape, all that will change. Your land will be overrun with vicious criminals; your government will fall. You can stop her now. You can not only save your world, but help ours as well. Will you do it? Or will you let this one precious chance escape?

"You decide." Karen threw down a pokeball and Rapidash emerged. "I'll be back tomorrow. Perhaps you'll have a decision by then. I just hope it's the right one."

She left the same she came, atop a flaming horse, her hair whipping in the wind.

For a minute there was total silence. Then came a cry. The hoot of a Pidgey rang out against the swaying stalks of grass. A Rattatta yelled with it. Then another. And another. The whole field became alive with the voices of the pokemon meshing into one, an army rallying themselves into a frenzy.

Karen's army.

. . .

"I liked her," Vannack said. "She didn't try to deny anything. She was honest. You could hear that in her voice. And brave, too. To stand up in front of a crowd and put everything on the line. You must admit she has courage."

"Of course she does," Kolb said, wearily massaging his temples. "I almost liked her too. But that's not the point."

"Which you made painfully clear today," said Shalimar.

"The more she told about her pitiful life, the more the audience bowed to her."

"And the more you callously brushed her experiences aside, the less the audience respected you. You came off as a bully."

"I was scanning her thoughts, trying to catch her in a lie."

"And did you?"

"She eluded me," Kolb admitted. "But she's still so vague about things, it's hard to say whether her 'not-lies' were really truths."

"What does that mean?" Enki said.

"It means I couldn't find any real inconsistencies between her thoughts and her words. But that doesn't necessarily mean she wasn't deceiving us. It simply means that I don't have the skill to determine which of her thoughts are lies." Under his breath he muttered, "Zeroun probably could."

"Your suspicions are well-intentioned, I'm sure," Enki said. "But there's also a time to trust."

"Maybe," Shalimar said. "But I don't like where she's leading us."

"To the freedom of all humans."

"To war. With Jaquie at least. Possibly with Gadara as well."

"But the danger she spoke of is real?" Vannack asked.

"Yes," Kolb said. "Without the vagueness, without the exaggeration, Karen's thoughts consistently show Jaquie as a threat."

"So we shouldn't contact Gadara," Shalimar said.

Kolb looked at Enki and Vannack, clearly still under Karen's enchantment. He sighed. "As you said before, we can't."

_. . ._

"So how was it?" Kris asked when Karen came back.

"Don't even ask." Karen plopped down on her sleeping bag. "It was a nightmare. I hope you appreciate all the trouble I go through for you."

Kris just laughed. "Yeah, I appreciate it."

. . .

It had taken years to achieve a peaceful society where intellectual pokemon ruled their own land in an orderly manner. Five days with Karen completely undid it. The pokemon swooned for her and large crowds followed wherever she went. Soon, they were clamoring with hatred for Jaquie, demanding their leaders launch an attack. Kolb tried to point out the magnitude of this action. No one cared. They had their princess, now they wanted their quest.

"I don't see why we shouldn't help her," Vannack said. "Yes, I realize that we have achieved peace for centuries, but it can't be worth maintaining if we're willing to let an entire society rot in the grip of a tyrant. We have a moral obligation to help."

Kolb cleared his throat. "Pardon me. But I have suspicions of a complete stranger whose first act of diplomacy is to enlists us in a crusade to abolish evil."

"The matter is urgent," Enki pointed out. "Jaquie leaves in little more than a month."

"Yes, I remember that," Kolb said. "But there is something about Karen's story I do not like. And several more parts I do not understand."

"It doesn't matter." Shalimar sighed. "War is inevitable now. The people are riled up. We've posted guards on the borders between our city-states and the Southern Tropics-"

"Another one of Karen's suggestions," Kolb interjected.

"My point is that we've already acquired a warfare mentality. Open war will occur in a matter of time. But it does bother me that we've aimed our hostilities at Gadara's territory. Many of her citizens may be caught in the crossfire."

"An act which may very well lead to civil war-the very event we've tried most of our history to avoid," Kolb said heatedly. "If Karen wants to lead us to that, I think at the very least we should investigate her motives more thoroughly."

"You've already interrogated her."

"Verbally. Not mentally."

The others all stared at him.

"No," Shalimar said at last. "That is completely out of the question. A mind search is reserved only for those suspected of a high crime."

"And what is war? Is it not also a crime?"

"What you are suggesting is a gross invasion of privacy. It would cause moral outrage."

"If she has nothing to hide..."

"Kolb, we cannot do this without her permission," Shalimar persisted.

"Then we shall have her permission."

There was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me," Karen said. "Can I come in?"

"In a moment," Kolb replied. "Are we decided about the mind search?"

The others grudgingly nodded.

"But only if she agrees to it," Shalimar added.

"Of course," Kolb said. "And if she doesn't agree, we simply won't follow her proposition. We are agreed then." To Karen, he called out, "You may come inside now."

Karen entered. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were glowing.

"Good evening," she said politely. "It's getting close to six, and I have to be going. But before I leave, I wanted to tell you that I'll be bringing Kris tomorrow. You remember him, my partner. I discussed it with your citizens and they thought it was a great idea. With your permission, of course."

"That's fine," Kolb said. "We look forward to meeting him. But before you go, there is one thing we need to discuss. As a council, we are on the verge of granting your request to wage war on Jaquie."

"Really?" Karen's voice was pleasant but contained no trace of surprise. "Well, thank you very much. We certainly appreciate your help. Without it our chances of victory would be-"

"That's fine," Kolb interrupted. "But before we get involved in a war, we wish to perform a mind search, to ascertain your honesty and the worthiness of your cause."

Karen blinked. "What?"

"Do not be offended," Shalimar said. "But war is such an enormous occurrence, especially after centuries of peace. We must consider all possibilities and take all possible precautions before we permit it."

Karen nodded solemnly. "I understand that. I've just never heard of a mind search."

"Don't you have psychic pokemon where you live?" Vannack asked.

"Yes, but they're not as advanced as yours."

Kolb stood up. "A mind search is a process in which we, somewhat forcefully, unearth the memories you've stored throughout your life. It shows us all you know and all you have experienced."

Karen stared. "You mean you want to read my mind?"

"No," Kolb said, "we've already done that."

Karen paled. "What?"

"We've already scanned your thoughts. While you're with us, any thoughts you have or memories you've chosen to recall are known to us. A mind search goes deeper. We dwell into the recesses of your mind and all your past is known to us. When we scan your thoughts, you remain in control of your mind. But in a mind search, you forfeit some of that power to us."

Karen said nothing but her posture became very rigid.

_You broke the news well_, Shalimar commented.

_Well, how would you have put it_? Kolb shot back.

"Do you agree to this search?" Enki asked. "We will not intrude in your mind without your permission."

Karen's blue eyes darkened. "But you already have."

"Enki means that we will not perform the mind search if you object," Shalimar quickly put in. "You have a right to privacy, and we will respect that. But please understand that if you do not agree to our mind search, we will not agree to your war."

"I can't..." Karen's voice faltered. "I mean, it's too close to curfew and I need to get back to headquarters."

"Tomorrow, then?" Kolb suggested.

"I'll think about it," she said faintly. "Can I go now?"

"Of course."

The Blastoise closed his eyes and concentrated his psychic powers. A slight ripple in the air, and the blond girl disappeared.

. . .

"The plan is off!" Karen stormed into the room.

Kris took off his headphones. "What are you talking about?"

"The pokemon are reading my mind!"

Kris sighed. "Karen, I think you're being a little paranoid-"

"Do not patronize me, Kris. They told me so themselves. The leaders were 'scanning my thoughts' as they call it. Apparently, they can do that. And now they want to go further and search all my memories. They're going to know we're deceiving them. We have to forget this stupid plan and think up a new one."

"No way!" Kris said. "Not after all the work we've done."

"All the work _I've_ done," Karen corrected. "And if you think that for one moment I am going to let them anywhere near my memories-"

"Did I say that?" Kris retorted back. "That's just plain stupid. No, we have to think of something else."

"Like what?"

"Let me think for a minute." Kris paced the room like a cat. "How many pokemon are asking for this memory search?"

"As far as I can tell, it's just the mayors."

"Only those four, right? The rest of the public, they like you, they believe you?"

"Yes, Kris, it's _only_ the four most powerful pokemon on our side of the island who remain slightly unconvinced of the morality of our scheme. That's all."

Kris snapped his fingers. "This could work."

"What could?" Karen asked, growing irritated.

Kris rummaged through a pile of junk on his side of the room. "So the other day while you were gone, I played cards with Jared. He's an interesting traitor. Brilliant, yet easy to talk to-"

"Are you going to tell me your idea or write Jared a love sonnet?" Karen asked.

Kris tossed a small pistol at Karen. "That. He told me about _that_. His newest invention."

"It's a gun."

"Well, duh," Kris said. "But not a normal one. It shoots liquid so fast that the liquid is instantly absorbed into the pokemon, no reaction time, no pauses. Not just water, mind you, but any liquid you want: potion, antidote, poison... or amnesia serum."


	28. Chapter 26: Jared's Observations

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 26

**Jared's Observations**

. . .

. . .

March 17th-Evening

It was a little thing, but it bothered him.

Everything seemed to have settled down, and it was peaceful again. Jared was in the main room, operating the healing machine for Karen. Though she stood right across from him, she was ignoring him, as usual. The machine beeped and whirled. In the corner, Jesse and James chatted quietly amongst themselves.

"But who are _they_?" James said a little loudly.

Karen's head snapped towards them and her blue eyes glinted with interest_._ (Blue? But weren't Karen's eyes _brown_?)

Jesse hushed her partner and glanced around the room to see if anyone had heard them. She glared at Jared.

"Nothing to listen to here. Go back to your own business."

Jared looked at Karen, but her head was lowered, apparently not so interested after all. Were her eyes really blue? He couldn't tell. The healing machine sang out its ending tune. Karen took out her pokeballs and walked out of the room.

. . .

Why did it bother him? So, Karen wore contacts. Big deal. So Jesse and James were having secret talks. They were entitled to their own conversations. Who were _they_? Did Karen know? How could she? And why did it matter if she did?

It mattered because there were secrets everywhere. There were things going on between Jesse and James and Karen and Kris. Sometimes it showed up in odd little events. Sometimes it grew into a full-scale shouting match.

Like the Make-up War.

. . .

March 18th-Evening

"Thief!"

Jesse's high-pitched screech startled Jared out of his sketching. He jumped, but she wasn't yelling at him. She'd flung open the door to Karen and Kris' room, interrupting what appeared to be a deep conversation between the two of them. Jesse pointed a quivering finger in Karen's face.

"Thief! Thief!"

Karen stood up and shoved aside the accusing finger. "Do you have a point or are you just making a general comment about my job in Team Rocket?"

Jesse shoved a pouch in front of Karen's face. "My make-up! You've been stealing it! You're wearing it right now!"

Kris tilted his head, but didn't say anything. He pushed a small shiny weapon under a pile of CDs.

"So?" Karen said. "What are going to do about it?"

"I'll-I'll fight you," Jesse sputtered.

"With fists or pokemon?" Karen asked. "Either way, I'll win."

Jesse seethed.

"Now, if you're finished with your mindless protest, please get out of my room."

"No." Jesse crossed her arms.

Karen's eyes narrowed. "I said get out."

"You stay out of makeup and you leave my things alone."

"Oh please. I'll take whatever I want. What are you going to do to stop me? Tell on me to Jaquie?"

"I can take care of my own problems," Jesse said.

"No, you can't," Karen said. "You have no strong pokemon, no martial arts training, not even a weapon on you. All you have is a big sister in a high place, and even she wishes you'd drop out of the universe."

Jesse flinched.

Karen came closer, like a piranha sensing blood.

"Your sister hates you, Jesse. And who can blame her? You're an embarrassment. A miserable failure to a person who hates failures. Look at yourself. Crying like a baby over some make-up, but what are you going to do about it? Nothing. And what are you going to do with your life? Nothing. That's all you amount to Jesse. Nothing."

Jesse's eyes flashed, but their fire was quenched by tears.

"Now get out," Karen said.

Jesse stumbled back.

"Leave her alone, Karen," James said in an angry voice.

Karen put her hands on her hips. "Don't even get me started with you. You're worse than your partner. Just go away, both of you." Her voice held a strain of weariness.

"You're the one who's nothing, Karen. You're nothing but a bully."

Karen's eyes darkened. "I swear, if you both weren't under Jaquie's protection, I'd beat you up myself. But Jaquie won't be around forever. And when she's gone-"

"Enjoying the show, Jared?" Kris interrupted.

Karen immediately shut her mouth and whirled around to stare at him.

For the first time, Jared became self-conscience of his own actions. He'd long since put down his paper and was practically leaning out on his chair to get a better view. Embarrassed, he tried to go back to sketching.

A cry of protest from Jesse and James soon caused Jared to glance back up. Kris had shoved past them and was walking right up to Jared. It made Jared nervous, even though Kris smiled and didn't look angry at all.

"Don't mind Karen," he said in a friendly tone. "She gets a bit cranky when she has to deal with idiots. But she wouldn't really hurt them, you know."

"I know," Jared replied.

At least, not while they were still under Jaquie's protection. It was that part about Jaquie being gone that bothered him. Was Karen planning something once they got off the island?

But Kris hadn't finished. "For the record, Karen didn't disobey Jaquie's orders. Just be sure to mention that when you give her your report."

"What report?"

"Well, you're her spy, aren't you? That's why you were eavesdropping on us."

Jared felt his face grow red. "I just happened to overhear."

"Sure, that's it," Kris said peaceably. "You just happened to overhear. Later, Jaquie asks you what you noticed while she was gone and you tell her. Nothing strange about that. You're friends now. I bet the leader of our expedition, the second-in-command of Team Rocket, must love gossiping with a lowly grunt like you."

Jared was silent. He knew what Kris was insinuating, and he wanted to tell him flat-out that he was not a spy. But he didn't. Because he felt a little prick of doubt. Jaquie had asked him to keep an eye on Karen and Kris, even though she hadn't called it spying. Could she be using him? Was that the only reason she tolerated his company? Because he was good at noticing things?

While Jared mulled this, Kris walked casually back to Jesse and James.

"By the way, Jesse," he said. "I stole your make-up for Karen to use. You shouldn't stick your bag right on top of the camera. I think some of your nail polish spilled and got into the film."

James squealed and ran back to his room.

"You might want to go check on him," Kris suggested. When Jesse didn't move, he added, "Hey Jesse, what is it that you and James do all afternoon, when you go out by yourselves? Is it anything I ought to tell Jaquie about?" he teased.

Jesse turned and stormed away.

Karen shut the door with a loud bang.

And that was the end of the Make-up War.

. . .

Kris was good at digging into Jared's self-doubt. He realized later that Jaquie need not be subtle-if she had wanted Jared to spy on his compatriots, she could have just ordered him to.

But she didn't. In fact, she had specifically denied it.

. . .

March 16th-Afternoon

"Why haven't they attacked me yet?" Jaquie raged.

Jared had just come back from refilling the electric weapons and was almost sorry he'd interrupted. Jaquie was pacing furiously, flipping through notebooks and tossing them aside.

"They've had ample time to recover. What's stopping them?"

"Who?" Jared asked. "Nidorina and Pidgeot."

She looked at him and her tone lowered. "No. Those two have been consistent at least. Three rebellions in the last three days. But why are they the only ones fighting me? The first week we were here, it seemed like every pokemon we came across was trying to kill us. And now nothing. Why?"

"I don't know." Jared sat down on his log. "But isn't that a good thing. If you can barely handle Nidorina, then why do you want the whole island to attack you?"

He shut his mouth as soon as he'd said it, so quickly he bit his tongue.

"Because," Jaquie growled, "if they attack me, at least I would know what they were up to. I refuse to believe that we've crushed them into meek submission, and the only other explanation I can think of is that they're amassing a large army for a counterattack."

"What will you do if that happens?"

"If they attack directly, we can all retreat somewhere and launch a guerrilla attack from the jungle. But we'd have to stick together to be safe. And I don't like how Jesse and James are always out in the forest."

"You give them permission to leave," Jared pointed out.

"Better than having them sneak out on me-and knowing my sister, she'd do just that. At least this way, they have their tracking device and won't hesitate to come to me if there's trouble. That's the best I can do. I don't have time to watch them every minute of the day."

She went back to flipping through her notes.

"Maybe instead of waiting for the pokemon to attack you, you should attack them first," Jared suggested.

"Oh, I will, if I can," Jaquie said. "I intend to get into the invisible wall city at least, to rescue Meowth. The problem is getting the pokemon I caught here to attack their own city. I may end up losing their trust, and then I wouldn't be able to use them for... for later." Jaquie tore off a fresh piece of paper.

"I don't see the point," Jared said. "You have to turn them over to Giovanni eventually."

"So, he can dose them all silly with amnesia serum," Jaquie muttered. She looked at Jared. "Sure that's the point," she said in a louder voice.

"Why don't you use amnesia serum? That would make your job easier." Under his breath, he added, "Then you'd stop yelling at me.''

"I don't believe in that stuff. The trainer becomes dependent on the serum, and the pokemon become dependent on the trainer, and both end up inefficient fools. And I'm not yelling at you, or at least, I'm not trying to."

Jared bit his tongue for the second time that day and winced. "Even if you don't believe in the serum, Giovanni does, and he's going to use it on them eventually. If you're training them to make them stronger, the pokemon will still be stronger when the amnesia serum is applied, but if you do succeed in making them trust you, that won't do much. The amnesia serum will wipe out their memory of you."

Jaquie didn't say anything. She just started scribbling on the paper.

It occurred to Jared that perhaps Jaquie wasn't going to give all the pokemon she captured to Giovanni. As the second-in-command, she might be entitled to take her pick.

"Jaquie are you-?"

"Shh,"Jaquie said. She had stopped writing and was looking around at the forest. "Did you hear that?"

Jared listened. "Hear what?"

Jaquie shook her head. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm being watched. I'm not sure if it's a sound I've heard or just my suspicions..." She sighed. "I envy Kris. Kris knows when he's being watched." A look of worry crossed her face. "By the way, have you noticed anything unusual about him?"

"No... well, he's being nicer to me, I think."

"You think?"

"He kind of forced me to play cards with him yesterday," Jared explained. "He might have just been bored."

Jaquie frowned. "Where was Karen?"

"Kris said she was outside. I didn't see her, though."

"Do you think those two have been acting strange lately?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't say exactly. It's... I don't know..." Jaquie's voice trailed off and she rubbed her head. "Maybe you could keep an eye on them for me. Let me know if they do anything unusual."

"Spy on them you mean?" Jared said in a mysterious tone.

There was no humor on Jaquie's face.

"Not spy," she said, spitting the word out like it was distasteful. "I just want to know if something's wrong. But I don't want you to be spy for me. I hate spies."

. . .

On the other hand, if Kris really thought Jared was a spy, he sure had a weird way of showing it. He'd become open and friendly toward Jared, telling him all sorts of gossipy tidbits. But all this just gave Jared a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't believe the interest was genuine. It was like the sheen of a mirror, blinding him from the truth.

So what was he was concealing?

And why had Kris forced him to play cards that one day?

. . .

March 15th-Afternoon.

"We're running low on ammunition," Jaquie said. "Can you fix the problem?"

Jared shrugged. "It's no big deal. I have the equipment I need, and my Electrabuzz can supply the electricity. All I need is an ice pokemon."

"Why don't you borrow Kris' Cloyster then? He probably isn't using it now. Tell him I'm giving him an order. He'll complain, but he'll do it."

Jared nodded and walked back to headquarters.

Kris was there, listening to his CD player. He looked up when Jared came in. Jared picked up the resupplying device, a black square box with what looked like a flower-shaped steel phonograph head blooming from the top and a rubber tube coming out of its square base. He took it outside and went back for the bazookas. Then he got the charges for the revolvers. Kris was watching him now.

"What are you doing?" he asked, pulling his headphones down.

"I'm going to recharge the weapons," said Jared. "By the way, I need your Cloyster. Jaquie's orders."

Kris took out a pokeball and tossed it to Jared. Jared caught it, nearly dropped it, and caught it again.

"Thanks" he said, pleasantly surprised that Kris hadn't put up much of a fight.

Unfortunately Kris followed him outside. "So how does it work?"

Jared unscrewed the front panel off of the bazooka and attached the hose to a special tube inside the bazooka.

"It's simple really," he said. "We can't make ice or electricity, so we just store it, like electricity in batteries. This system is designed to transfer the pokemon's attack into the storage unit, via the machine."

Jared tossed Kris' pokeball to the floor. "Cloyster, blizzard. Aim for the flower-shaped device."

Cloyster did nothing.

"Ice Storm, blizzard. Aim for the part that looks like the top of a phonograph."

Cloyster obeyed Kris' orders without hesitation.

"He won't listen to you," Kris explained.

"Thanks," said Jared.

"No problem," Kris said. "So how does this phonograph thing work?"

"Well, the top just harnesses the attack. See, how it looks like a large funnel. It works like one, too. The wide concave section catches the attack, which then flows into the box. The box is the only really complicated part of the machine; it compress the ice or electricity. The compressed ice, in this case, is then squeezed through this long gray tube which is connected to the gun. Then the gun is reloaded. Got it."

"Yeah, I think so," Kris said. "But what about the revolvers. We load charges into those."

"All I do in that case is attach a different, smaller tipped hose to the box-part of the machine. Then, instead of attaching the hose to the machine, I attach the hose to the charges you put in the revolvers."

"Can it work with any pokemon attack? Or just ice and electricity?"

"It can use most any special attack. Ice and electricity just work best. Leaf attacks just turn to salad, water doesn't do much harm, and fire's too much of a bother, especially since we could just use flamethrowers. But it doesn't work with psychic attacks, because there's no physical element which can direct psychic energy."

"Interesting." Kris looked at Jared's pile of guns. "Are you going to reload all of those?"

"Yes," Jared said tersely.

"And how long does it take per gun?"

"About ten minutes for the bazookas. About three for the charges."

"Hmmn. Then maybe you should put the guns in the shade so the metal won't burn you when you pick them up."

Jared looked at the guns, laying beneath the hot sun, and cringed at his mistake. He moved the guns into the shade.

It took Jared nearly two hours just to finish with the ice. Then he withdrew Kris' Cloyster. Kris gone back to his room, playing solitaire this time.

"Thanks," he said. "So are you done? Are you going back to Jaquie?"

"I only did the ice. I still have to finish with the electricity."

Kris looked up. "You mean outside, between the barrier and the headquarters."

"Yeah," Jared said. "Right where I was all this afternoon."

Kris swept up his cards and patted them together with his hands. "You know how to play speed?"

"What?"

"Speed-it's a card game."

"Yeah, I know how to play that."

Kris got to his feet. "Play with me," he ordered. "In the main room."

"I haven't finished with the guns yet."

"So? Do it tomorrow. This is your free time."

"But I don't want to play."

"Too bad. I didn't want you to use my Cloyster all day."

Jared sighed and sat down. "Why don't you play with Karen?"

Kris had come across one of Jared's liquid revolvers lying on the table. Jared tried to snatch it up, but Kris grabbed it first.

"Karen's busy," he said vaguely. "And what's this?"

"It's an electric revolver I modified to shoot out liquids. What's Karen busy doing?"

"Why would you turn a perfectly good electric revolver into a water gun?" Kris said, with some disgust.

"I never said it shot water, I said it shot _liquids_. Potions, antidotes, and stuff like that. They absorb into the pokemon on contact and work instantly, no delay periods. For the third time, what is Karen doing?"

But Kris was eying the revolver with renewed interest. "_Any _liquids?"

Jared crossed his arms.

"She's out doing... oh, I don't know, Karen stuff. We don't always tell each other what we do, you know. Now, will this _liquid_ revolver shoot, say, revive?"

"Sure."

"Amnesia serum?"

"I guess."

"Poison?"

"I don't know. I haven't really tested it much."

"This could be useful," Kris said, pocketing the gun.

"I never said you could keep it," Jared protested.

But Kris ignored him. He pushed the rest of Jared's stuff in sloppy piles at the edge of the table, cut his deck of cards, and shuffled the cards together.

"Let's play speed." He began to deal.

Jared sighed and picked up his hand. "You don't respect me at all, do you? You respect Karen, but not me," he grumbled.

Kris laughed. "Believe me, if you don't respect Karen, you end up bleeding real quick. I ought to know. Ready?"

Jared nodded and turned over his card. "Does she really beat up people?"

"Not so much anymore." Kris began rapidly discarding cards and picking up new ones. "Now she's found worse ways. Take guys, for example."

Kris put down three cards, picked up three cards, and put down another two, all while Jared was still looking from his hand to the top card.

"Most guys, they see Karen, they think she's beautiful, which, you know, she is, and they fall head over heals for her. Then they start babbling about themselves and bragging about how great they are. Karen gets the idea that they think of her as some sort of Barbie doll or trophy-that they don't respect her as a person. So she breaks their hearts-speed."

All Kris' cards were gone. Jared looked at his cards. He still had a full hand and his pick-up deck was half full.

"You're quick," he commented.

"Thanks." Kris picked up the cards and reshuffled.

"I thought Karen was pretty when I first saw her."

"Of course you did. It's kind of hard not to."

"I tried to help her load boxes on the boat."

Kris laughed. "Well, there you go. Now she hates you." He began sorting cards into piles.

"For being nice?" Jared asked.

"For acting as though she was weak. And also because you're a traitor and Karen really can't stand traitors."

"But I'm not a traitor!" insisted Jared hotly.

Kris shrugged.

"So she decided to break my heart."

Kris laughed again, much to Jared's indignation. "You really are ignorant. Does it really feel like your heart's been shattered, that your ego's been crushed like an aluminum can?"

"No. But I was never really in love with her."

"Bingo. Let's play." Kris turned over his card.

"So she didn't do a very good job."

"Please, if she had wanted your heart broken, it would be broken. I've seen her in action. She acts like the sweetest girl imaginable and leads the bonehead on with the way she looks at him, the way she speaks, you name it. She becomes the most perfect girlfriend the guy could ever have, and right when the guy is entirely smitten with her, she reveals her true character. Usually, she robs him and taunts him, then leaves him to cry in the dust."

"Ouch."

"She didn't do that with you. You should be grateful."

"So maybe she-"

"Speed!" Kris put down his last card.

Jared shoved the rest of his cards in the middle and Kris shuffled again.

"So maybe she doesn't hate me," Jared concluded.

Kris rolled his eyes. "You were spared mainly because you're working together. Karen doesn't get involved with guys she works with. She says when she breaks their hearts they get distracted and can't get anything done."

"So then I take it you and her aren't-?"

"Oh, hell, no," Kris said. "I work with her more than you. You think she would ever let the two of us get involved? Yeah right. Ready?"

Jared picked up his cards. "How do you stand her?"

Kris shrugged. "She's just Karen."

"Sometimes, I can't stand her."

"Understandable. But she got what she wanted. If you hate her, you respect her."

"I don't hate her, I just don't especially like her anymore. Besides, hate doesn't always equal respect."

"Most of the time it does. If you hate someone, you respect them, if they're strong. For example, I hate Jaquie, but I respect her."

"You _hate_ her?"

"Yeah. Hate and respect go together."

"You must hate Karen then," Jared commented.

Kris paused. Jared took advantage of the situation to put down two of his cards. Kris quickly caught up.

"No, I don't hate Karen. I respect her and all, but I don't hate her." Kris shrugged. "It's weird. I know better than anyone that she can be cruel, ungrateful, strict, bossy, no fun at all, sarcastic-and I mean _sarcastic_-but still... She's just Karen, you know? Speed."

Jared sighed. "You beat me three times now. Can I go back to work?"

"No. This is fun."

Jared picked up a card and glanced at it. A jack of diamonds.

"Who's Terrance?" he asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Terrance. She called me that once. Who...?"

"Her brother," Kris said quickly. "And if she called you that it means she really doesn't like you. Terrance is the oldest of her three brothers. He treated her like she was weak and wouldn't let her do anything simply because she's a girl. That's why she's so insecure about her own strength, I guess. And that's why you should never, ever insinuate that she's weak."

"Thanks for the advice. What about you?"

"Middle class, middle child. Parents away all the time. Bossy older sister. Cute little brother. And me always getting in trouble. I didn't fit in, so I left-speed."

"Did anyone come from a poor family?"

"Jaquie."

"Jaquie? Really?"

"Oh, and Jesse too, until Jaquie started making money."

Jared looked at his watch. "It's getting late. Maybe I should go back to work."

"No, let's play again."

"But I really don't want-"

Karen walked in through the front door, brushing dirt off her shoulders and hair. She seemed tired too, and her eyes were red. She yawned and saw Jared and straightened up.

"What are you doing here?" she said. "It's not curfew yet."

"I was refilling the weapons outside, before Kris roped me into several games of speed."

"Oh." Karen glanced at the door. "There's a bunch of guns and stuff scattered out there. Are they yours, Jared?"

"Yeah. I'd pick them up, but Kris won't let me leave."

"I never said you couldn't leave. Go if you want to."

Jared headed for the door. But before he went, he got one last look at them. Karen sank into the chair and sighed. Kris patted up his cards again.

"You want to play speed with me, Karen?"

"No. You always win."

. . .

But it wasn't just Karen and Kris acting weird. Something was going on with Jesse and James, and they didn't even bother to hide it. All morning long, they whispered and whispered, while they cut up the fruit and cleaned up the headquarters. Jaquie didn't know; she spent the mornings with Karen and Kris, hunting new pokemon. But Jared was right there. He heard everything loud and clear.

Especially when the whispers turned to shouts.

. . .

March 17th-Morning

"Have you tried just asking her direct?" James asked.

"Yes!" Jesse chopped an apple in half, clearly frustrated. "She always says no!"

"Have you tried begging and pleading like with the boss-"

"I've tried everything! Jaquie just won't give me an interview."

Jared sighed. He was supposed to be fixing a broken alarm, but it was getting hard to concentrate with Jesse and James practically yelling just across the room. He glanced at the frayed wires.

"Did you ask Jared?" James asked.

Jared looked up. "Ask me what?"

"Can you ask Jaquie if she could give us an interview?"

"On what topic?"

Jesse exploded. "That's exactly what she always says. I don't have a topic. It could be on anything. I just need to talk to her... alone... away from headquarters... without her pokemon."

"Do you have a reason? Jaquie usually wants a reason."

"Here's my reason: because it's important to me."

"Okay," Jared said, taking a breath. "Do you have any interview questions then?"

Jesse looked at James, who shrugged.

"I can make some up," she said.

She certainly wasn't giving him much to work with. "Do you even have an interview date?" he asked desperately.

"Three o'clock sharp this afternoon, or any other day of the week, as long as she tells me beforehand. The place will be by the apple tree, right outside the barrier. She cannot have her pokemon with her."

Jared startled. "All right. I'll try. But why don't you want her to bring her pokemon? And if you don't have any topic in mind for an interview, why do you want to interview her in the first place?"

Jesse squinted at him. "No wonder Jaquie likes you. You two think exactly alike. Exactly alike."

She walked out the door without answering his questions. Jared noticed her gait as she walked, so unlike her sister's. Jesse swung her hips and her arms. Her hair sashayed back and forth, her lone curl a pendulum. She had a look of confidence about her. _Was she always that confident?_ Jared wondered. He couldn't remember.

"Hey Jesse, grab that sack of apples outside while you're out there," James yelled. "We can peel them to make apple sauce."

The door closed without response.

"Why does she want an interview so badly?" Jared asked. "Is it for your news report?"

James paused for a half beat. "Sure," he said.

Jared went back to his original task, which fixing the alarm system. The one he created had short-circuited this morning and woke everyone up with loud screeches at 3:19 A.M. A false alarm. Jared disconnected it and was trying to fix the problem. One wire was frayed and that seemed to unbalance the whole system...

Jared threw down his work. "You know what the problem with this alarm is? It's useless. Not because I can't fix it, but because what's the point? Psychic pokemon could get in just by teleporting, and they're the main threat."

"You should have listened to Jesse's idea," James said unsympathetically.

"Which was?"

"Mirrors. We've used them before. They toss the psychic attack right back at the one who used it."

"Even teleporting attacks?" Jared muttered. Then he straightened. "Wait. Mirrors can reflect psychic energy. Real mirrors? How?"

"I don't know. They just hit the mirrors and go spinning in another direction."

Jared's brain began to theorize. "Maybe they misconstrue the aim of the attack. The pokemon sees itself in the mirror and so the psychic attack is aimed at that pokemon. Or perhaps the unique surface of the mirror..."

Jesse waltzed back in and whispered something in James' ear. Jared only caught the words, "Jaquie" and "two more."

James winced. "Spearow?"

Jesse nodded.

. . .

March 17th-Afternoon

"No, Tauros, stop," Jaquie said. "Stop struggling. The more you struggle against a psychic attack, the more painful it is. You have to be calm and ride it like a wave."

Jared approached with caution. Jaquie stood in the middle of a ring of dueling pairs, watching intensely as a Tauros and Jynx fought. All her pokemon were accounted for, except Nidorina and Pidgeot, and they were throwing attacks in all directions. Jared hesitated at the edge.

"Jaquie?" Jared began.

"You're letting yourself be intimidated by Jynx's psychic abilities. There is nothing spectacular about psychic attacks. It's merely a kind of energy created in the mind. Nidorina can redirect a psychic attack with her reflect-counter at her opponent. Don't tell me that you can't even reflect it."

Jared tried again. "Jaquie, if you're not too busy..."

"No, Tauros. I said _reflect_. Okay everyone stop what you're doing," Jesse commanded. "We're going to go over one of the fundamental rules of fighting. Whenever you find yourself taken by surprise, use reflect. I want all of you to drill on how to use reflect; this is to become an instinct for you. Nidorino, Slowbro, Ryhorn, Dodrio, lead them in the drill."

"Can I talk with you for a minute?"

Finally, she turned from her work. "Sure, Jared. What is it?"

Jared carefully explained Jesse and James proposition. He watched her eyes grow distant and her mouth grow hard. She waited until he finished, then she said, "No."

One brief word, no explanation.

Jared felt a bit annoyed. "Why won't you let her interview you?"

"Why should I? I don't have any reason to permit an interview?"

"You don't have a reason not to. Besides, she's your sister."

"That doesn't mean I should tolerate an obstruction of my time."

"You've been working too hard anyway. Take some time to do something besides work. Besides, I doubt it would take that long."

Jaquie pressed her lips together, silent, and looked away.

"You want reasons," Jared said, growing irritated. "Fine, here are reasons. First, it's harmless. Second, it shows you support her in her new career. Third, you get an afternoon where you can guarantee she won't get in trouble wandering around the forest."

Jaquie stood up. "I'm too busy."

"For your sister?" Jared said incredulously. "You know she looks up to you. She hides it well, but she does."

"Well, she shouldn't," Jaquie said harshly. "The second-in-command of a mafia, why should I be her role model?"

"What?" said Jared.

"Nothing. There are just things that I don't want to talk about. Things that I don't want people to know about me-even Jesse."

"Like what?"

"If I won't tell my sister, I'm not going to tell you. For once don't pry into this matter. It is none of your business. Tell Jesse I do not want her to interview me and tell her to stop asking."

Jared didn't speak for a long time.

"Did you capture two pokemon this morning?" he asked at last, changing the subject.

"Yes."

"Were either of them a Spearow?"

"No."

"Oh."

And they were silent again.

. . .

March 17th-Early Evening

"Well, isn't that typical of Jaquie," Jesse griped. "Even when _you_ ask her, she still won't do this for me. Fine, see if I ask any more favors of her. I'm never speaking to her again."

"Good," Jared grumped. "Then you can forget this stupid interview."

"I still want to interview her, I just don't want to speak to her."

"How will you accomplish that?" Jared asked. "I mean, reasonably."

"I'm not reasonable," Jesse said. "If you want reasonable, go see Jaquie. She'll reasonable you to death."

"Why do you want to interview her so badly? Just tell me that."

"That is none of your business."

"Nothing ever is!" Jared exclaimed "That doesn't keep me from being involved. If I'm going to be put in the middle of two fighting sisters, at least tell me what the fight's about."

Jesse crossed her arms and flounced away.

Jared turned to James. "What's with those two? Why can't they get along?"

"They used to,"James said. "Before we joined Team Rocket. Remember, Jess?" He called to his partner.

"That doesn't count," Jesse replied. "She was nice then."

"What happened?" Jared asked, interested now.

Jesse turned towards them. Her eyes softened and her expression seemed distant and sad.

"She used to take care of me when I was young. Really young, maybe five or six. She'd take me to the park and watch me play while she read her books. But sometimes she'd stop reading and push me on the swings. Or she would show me the books about pokemon she was reading. And she would take me into the field and say, 'Jesse, don't move. Pretend you're a bush and if you wait long enough, the pokemon will come.' And they always did. That's how I learned to disguise myself. And she took me to the mall, too, to look at the toys, even though we couldn't afford them."

"Is this the same Jaquie?" Jared said. "Jaquie, our leader?"

"I told you, she used to be nice. Even when she joined Team Rocket, she was still nice, plus she was rich. We'd go to the mall, and she'd buy me whatever I wanted: toys and dolls and pencil boxes and new clothes. Then we'd have ice cream. I'd have the super deluxe banana split with strawberries and sprinkles and chocolate fudge and Jaquie would always have a cone of chocolate-dipped vanilla. Then we'd walk home and Jaquie would show me her pokemon and have them battle. She was-she is-the best trainer out there. Watching her battle was better than T.V."

Jesse sniffed, and James went over to her.

"Ever since we joined Team Rocket, she was never the same," James told Jared. "Jesse joined Team Rocket to be just like her sister. But we were never good enough, no matter how hard we tried. Maybe that's why Jaquie doesn't like us."

"That's no excuse," said Jesse. "I'm not perfect like her, I can't help that. But that's no reason for Jaquie to stop being my big sister."

Jared remembered a conversation he had had with Jaquie earlier, when he'd told her about his younger brother. _Get out of Team Rocket_, Jaquie had warned him. Was this why? Because it tore family ties apart.

"We used to be so close," Jesse continued. "Now she won't even give me one lousy interview." The pain and sadness in her blue eyes remained, but now there was anger too. "I'm finally beginning to do things right and she won't help me. Some big sister."

. . .

All this drama between Jaquie and Jesse made Jared miss his own younger brother, Oliver. If Team Rocket dissolved family bonds, it hadn't done anything to Jared's family yet. Oliver still admired Jared.

When he learned of the expedition, Oliver gushed about how cool it would be for Jared to stumble upon a scientific discovery that would change the world of pokemon forever. So far, that hadn't really happened, as Jared had been largely confined to the headquarters. But he was feeling restless. It was time to get out.

. . .

March 18th-Afternoon

"James told me about the ruins," Jared explained. "I'd like to go see them. So far, I haven't seen much of anything on this island, and I kind of promised Oliver I would tell him about everything and take pictures."

"Oliver's your little brother?" Jaquie said.

"Yeah," said Jared. "So can I go?"

"It's your free time, Jared. You can do what you like. Just be sure all your pokemon are in good health. Take a couple of revolvers and make yourself one of those tracking devices in case you get in trouble."

So Jared went back to the headquarters and packed. He looked for a tracking device to fix, but the only one he found was the one belonging to Jesse and James, which they'd apparently left behind.

_Jaquie isn't going to like this_, he thought.

He wondered if he should tell her about it, but it was already four, and he wanted to get to the ruins. So he took their device and resolved to tell Jaquie about it later. Jared walked through the forest. The smooth plastic box with the gaudy red button was nestled in the palm of his hand. _In case you get lost or run into danger, just push the button and I'll come._ The guns meant nothing. His safety lay in that box.

Sunlight poured from the sky and trickled on the surface of the leaves. But the light was only superficial and did not penetrate into the heart of the forest, the clustered shadows, which chattered with noise and life. Jared forgot about the mysteries of Team Rocket and focused only on the deeper mysteries of the forest.

And then he came upon the ruins and sucked in his breath. The buildings were garnished with flowers and vines, like embroidery on a gown. There was an old fountain in the middle, cut out of the earth like a pool, but dry now. Statues in the shape of water stood around the fountain, mouths and faces turned towards the pool, poised to shoot out water in beautiful streams.

Buildings lay on three sides of the fountain. Facing left and right were small stores made out of sand and worn smooth by the passing of times. Jared touched it, and the sand felt like plaster. In the front of the plaza, there were three large building made of stone. At first they seemed as unelaborated as the smaller buildings, but on closer inspection, there were many small three-dimensional pictures of pokemon etched on the surface of the plaster.

Jared traced his finger over the pictures and wondered what stories they told. The doorways were made of heavy dark wood, arched and roughly fourteen feet tall, with words carved on them. English words, Jared realized. The largest building of the three, the one in the middle, was named City Hall. A smaller inscription below it read, "A place where all may have voice." To the left of City Hall was the Hall of Commerce, "a place of prosperity" and to the right was the Hall of Justice, "a place of truth."

Then he came to the statue of a Venusaur. It was the grandest Venusaur imaginable, with a noble bearing and sad eyes. As Jared circled it, he could see it merge into an Ivysaur, fierce and determined. Then the Ivysaur became a poor, mewling Bulbasaur, all wrapped up in chains. Venusaur, Ivysaur, and Bulbasaur were all one: adult, adolescent, and child, the same spirit woven through.

Pictures could not describe the majesty of what Jared saw, but he took them anyway. Quickly, greedily, running out of film and probably losing half to poor lighting. He felt like an explorer discovering a new land.

No, it wasn't quite like that. It was like the Spanish finding Tenochitalin or Machu Picchu. A new culture, a new way of life, with its own beauty, its own secrets, and Team Rocket had come to conquer it. Suddenly, Jared felt ashamed. He looked at the little Bulbasaur all chained up and didn't want to be there anymore.

He left.

But he couldn't get the image out of his head, so that evening, back at headquarters, he took out a pencil and a pad of paper and started to sketch. Inspiration coursed through him, and he felt his mind lifted to a higher plain. For a glorious moment, he was in his own world, separate from all the drama of Team Rocket.

. . .

Everyone had secrets.

Jesse and James had a secret, and they whispered it like teenagers during passing period, making it well-known they were concealing something. Karen and Kris' secrets were more subtle, a ripple in the pool of normality but still discernible if one watched. And Jaquie had a secret, a secret not connected to the island, but deeper and ingrained, carved into her as deeply as the hieroglyphics on the ruins. Even the forest had its own secrets, secrets that would live and die unseen.

But Jared never probed beyond the surface. He watched and observed, but never tried to figure out what those shadows hid. Because, hidden beneath stacks of books and pieces of broken machinery, Jared had his own secret. His dream. A weapon that could shoot off psychic energy.

March 18th-Night.

The blue print was drawn. Rough, much erased, and imperfect.

But drawn.

So let everyone keep their secrets. He would keep his own. And hopefully it would all work out for the best.


	29. Chapter 27: March Nineteenth

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 27

**March Nineteenth**

. . .

. . .

Leah lay on the grass. The delights of the world felt painfully heavy in her chest. Outside of her pokeball, her senses were once again clear and focused: the ticklish tufts of the green grass, the gold of the sunrise, the wind singing like a snake charmer, and the heavy steel of the restraining device. The restraining device. It made the wistful world transform into an endearing torment.

Leah looked up as Nidorino suddenly approached.

_Nice morning, isn't it?_ he said pleasantly.

Leah glared at him, but his eyes turned and gazed into the morning cool.

_You're lucky_, he told her. _I didn't get nearly as much time outside my pokeball. But then being inside of it didn't bother me nearly so much either_.

_I suppose you're going to tell me that Jaquie is being lenient. That I'm lucky to have more time for leisure,_ Nidorina said bitterly_. What kind of leisure is this when the restraining device holds me down? And you think I haven't noticed that none of the other pokemon are wearing one?_

_You should consider it a compliment_, Nidorino replied._ Jaquie only uses the strengthening device on pokemon she thinks has potential. I wore the strengthening device, too. In fact I wore a number 26 strengthening device, which weighed about twice as much as I did, whereas you only have to wear number 24, just slightly above the maximum._

_Just slightly above the maximum, _Leah echoed derisively_. Yes, I am so very lucky. Next, I suppose that you'll be telling me I'm lucky that Jaquie isolated me from the rest of the pokemon-_

_You were trying to cause a mutiny._

_I suppose I should be thankful that Jaquie enslaved me. It's all for the best._

_It's not slavery,_ Nidorino said, exasperated_. Jaquie is trying to make you stronger. She's teaching you, if you'd only listen._

_You became a slave to gain strength._

_We're not slaves! Stop thinking of us like that! Stop thinking of Jaquie as a slave driver._

Nidorina shook her head_. Why do you always defend that human?_

_That human. That's all you ever see her as. You don't even try to understand her side of it. You think she's hard on us, she's ten times harder on herself. You don't even know how much pressure she's always under. _

_You've fallen under her influence, _Leah said with scornful pity_. Some time over your enslavement she's crushed your spirit. Look at you. You don't even have a name. You probably don't even remember what freedom is anymore._

Nidorino's eyes grew dangerous._ All right then Leah, tell me what freedom is, _he said quietly_. _

_It's simple_, Leah said._ Freedom is being able to do what you want with no one to stop you. Freedom is being out in wilderness with the day to yourself. It's eating what you like, and thinking as you wish. It's relaxing without set times and limits and restraints. If you joined me you could experience this freedom, too. You can choose your own trainer and live your own life._

_I understand,_ Nidorino said calmly_. You've enjoyed freedom all your life. Complete freedom, complete independence, and all this time you've never had to pay for it._

Leah bristled_. What do you know about it? You've never experienced freedom in all your life._

_Oh, I've experienced it_, he replied. _And let me tell you something about this precious freedom you keep raving about. In my world, you grew up free. Oh yes, the world was your oyster. Provided you were big enough and strong enough to fend for yourself._

_Let me tell you something about freedom. I was free to roam around whenever I wanted. Provided I didn't run into one of the five million grumpy Spearows that lived in the trees or get in the way of the fierce Rattattas that moved along the fields or invade the territory of another, much stronger Nidoran. I was free to eat what I wanted and when I wanted, which was whatever was left over at three o'clock in the morning when everyone else was asleep. _

_Of course, I could choose my own teacher, except that there were none. But I could always choose from those zero. I could train the way I chose. Which was mostly practicing the few attacks I knew on harmless grasses and small rocks. Or I could try to fight another pokemon. Then I'd be pecked or stomped until I whimpered away, bruised and nearly unconscious. Then who would heal me? Who would apply potion or cocoon me in a nice, protective pokeball? _

_Let me tell you about this wonderful freedom you keep going on and on about, _Nidorino continued on._ By the time I was a year old, I was sick of it. I was praying to be captured. The happiest day of my life was when I saw that pokeball coming towards me. You want me to abandon my trainer? Well, I don't think so. Because of her, I can walk into the field and defeat every pokemon that ever tormented me. Because of her, I don't have to worry about being hungry or safe. Because of her, I am not enslaved to your savage, ruthless freedom._

He looked at her, and she flinched away. Suddenly Leah felt dumb and naive, as a child speaking of things she didn't understand. She tried to regain her convictions, but they wouldn't come. When she looked into Nidorino's eyes, what little remained slowly leaked out. She felt hollow, like a fire that had burned out.

_Things are different here_, she told him, not quite looking him. _Here pokemon don't hurt each other like that._

_Yes_, he replied, staring at the sun. _And who made it that way?_

_. . ._

To Kolb's surprise, Karen arrived on time. She was farther from her usual place, away from the plains and clinging to the bushes that teased of Gadara's territory. She stood, withdrew her Rapidash, and hesitated. She took a step forward and hesitated again. Finally, she squared her shoulders and marched into the field.

"I have decided to go through with the mind search," she said mechanically.

Shalimar smiled. "That's wonderful Karen. You should know, the mind search is not a dangerous process, but it is one that is a bit... uncomfortable. It does take some courage to sacrifice privacy for a cause..."

Kolb let Shalimar's blather fade into the background and instead focused on Karen. She was paler than normal, he thought, and her lips were tight. Beads of sweat collected around her forehead and her hands were tightly. He scanned her thoughts. No, she wasn't listening to Shalimar's speech, either. Her mind was completely absorbed on observing a tree.

"You're nervous," Kolb observed, probably cutting Shalimar off.

Karen startled. "Reading my mind?"

"No, your expression. Why are you so nervous?"

"Are you reading my thoughts now?"

"Yes."

"Can you stop?"

"Why?"

"Because it's incredibly distracting to have a conversation when you're worried that someone knows your every thought."

"I'll stop," Kolb said. "But it's pointless. In a few minutes, I'll search your mind and know exactly what it is you were thinking."

"I realize that. But I'd still like to have some privacy. I'm letting you search my mind because I understand that my own personal discomfort is insignificant. It's just that I'm not used to having every aspect of my life an open book."

"Why? Are you hiding something?"

"You'll know soon enough, won't you?" Karen muttered. She forced a smile. "Look, I'm sorry, but this is all very new to me. Now, I don't know how this whole mind search thingie works, if all the field will be able to see my thoughts or..."

"Only Kolb will," Enki answered. "Then he'll transfer the thoughts to us. Only we will have to know the details of your life."

"All the same," said Karen, "can we perhaps move away from the field a little? It'd make me feel better not to have so many eyes staring at me while I'm going through... this process."

"What happened to a public trial?" Kolb asked.

Karen gave him a subtle smile. "The last time that happened certain people were very cruel with the secrets of my personal life."

Kolb frowned. He remembered how his aggressiveness made him unpopular. Still, he suspected something about Karen. Kolb drew a link between his thoughts and Shalimar's.

_What if it's a trap_? he asked her.

_Her against the four of us_? Shalimar replied. _None of us are novice fighters, Kolb. Besides, the bushes are in plain view of the other pokemon. If she does anything, they'll see it_.

Kolb nodded and turned to Karen.

"We'll give you the privacy you desire," he declared.

He spoke to the pokemon in the field in their own language and they reluctantly backed away. Karen smiled in and led the leaders into the bushes. They all gathered in a tight-knit circle around her, with Kolb bringing up the rear.

"Thanks," she told them. "I appreciate this. You see, I'm really, really nervous about this."

"This must be frightening for you," Shalimar said soothingly, coming close to Karen. "I can understand-"

Shalimar suddenly froze mid-sentence.

"Shalimar?" Kolb said.

He turned to Enki. The Scyther's massive scythes were rigid and still, and his eyes glazed over. Kolb looked at Vannack. Vannack looked back, confusion written on his face. There was a faint, breezy, whistling sound. Vannack's rock body stiffened. His eyes were as a drowning pokemon, desperately trying to keep above the surface, but slipping, slowly sinking into murky blue. Then, the spark was gone.

Kolb turned ferociously to Karen. "What have you done!" he demanded.

"Nothing," she replied.

Kolb was hit.

It happened in a flash. He barely felt the splash of liquid before it stuck in his skin. Kolb felt his muscles tense and tighten; he tried to move his lips to say something but couldn't. Then he felt his mind failing. Something was slowly leaking into his brain, conquering one section after another, his thoughts becoming abstracted. In that in between place between full consciousness and sleep, he was losing himself.

He looked at Karen. Her expression was blank.

Then his mind fell under a cloud of black.

_. . ._

"I never liked watching the amnesia serum do its work," Karen said. "The worst is when they look all blank-eyed. If that ever happens to me, kill me."

"I'll take note of that," Kris replied, still crouching deep in the bushes. "Don't worry Karen. The amnesia serum doesn't work on humans."

"Yet," she said darkly. "You know the Blastoise sometimes reminded me of myself: suspicious, sarcastic..."

"He was about to attack you. If I didn't use the amnesia serum, you'd be dead."

Karen said nothing. Kris knew her reply.

"Don't make me feel guilty, Karen. We did what we did, and there's nothing we can do now. Guilt makes things worse. It makes us feel terrible without purpose."

"The purpose is to prevent us from doing it again," Karen muttered.

Kris sighed, and addressed the pokemon. "Okay, everybody come here."

The four who had once ruled as mayors moved towards him. They had to. Kris was their master and they had to obey his wishes. So complete was the amnesia serum's work that Kris' voice became their only way of thinking.

"Blastoise," Kris commanded. "Karen, what's his name?"

"Kolb."

"Kolb, how long does this mind searching thing last?"

He didn't answer. He stared at them mutely, eyes unintelligible.

"That would require thinking," Karen said bitingly. "And they can't think. You can't ask questions. You can only give them commands."

"Well, we need to know how this works. It needs to look as though they've actually searched your mind. Did they tell you how it worked?"

"I forgot to ask, okay?" Karen snapped.

"Fine. I'll have him search your mind then."

"What?" Karen glared at him with those strange blue eyes.

"He won't know what to do with the information," Kris explained. "It doesn't matter. And it has to look realistic."

"I don't care." The look she gave him was absolutely venomous. "I told you I wasn't going to have my mind searched by anyone. And that includes zombies."

"Okay, fine!" Kris gave up. "Kolb, search my mind instead. Karen, you'll have to copy what happens to me."

Kris closed his eyes and let the process take effect.

Karen watched him closely. At first he looked only slightly distracted. Then his face became intense, and soon he was breathing hard and looking almost in physical pain. Karen mimicked his expressions as best she could. The whole procedure took only a few minutes. Then Kris shook himself off.

"That wasn't fun," he said, shuddering slightly. "Apparently you also see your memories when he goes through them."

"Didn't you have good memories, Kris?"

He looked at her helplessly, and she almost felt sorry for him.

Kris turned briskly back to the pokemon. "Kolb, Vaporeon, Onix, and Scyther, you all go back there to where those field pokemon are and tell them-" Here Kris whipped back his head for drama. "-Tell them, 'We will go to war. Karen's memories have shown Jaquie to be a monster more horrible than any we had imagined. She cannot be allowed to roam free. We must destroy her!' "

They watched the leader pokemon lumber off.

"Karen, I'll reemerge after about fifteen minutes or so."

"I'll be sure to distract them until then." Karen walked off.

Kris went back into the hole Karen's Tunneler had made. Memories still lingered in his brain.

_Stop it_, he told himself. _I can't live in the past. Guilt is stupid. It's worse than stupid, it's the reason I left home. I'm not going to let it suck me up, not now, not in my moment of triumph_.

Instead, he thought about revenge, and for a minute it made him feel better and for a minute it made him feel worse, so he concentrated on practicing his speech until the past left him and the present consumed him.

Karen, meanwhile, went back to the field, trying to remember how to smile. The leaders spoke the words Kris had given them, and the crowd roared. As the noise died down, gave a soft little monologue about how grateful she was, promised a quick war, and then went on to say that Kris would be arriving shortly.

Just to be sure the pokemon wouldn't be suspicious, Kris had Tunneler dig a separate passage under the bushes in a different direction. Kris walked out, and the two put on a little skit about how delighted they both were that the pokemon were helping them. Then Kris, of course, wanted to be led into town.

Pokemon from all four city-states gathered in Kolb's city. If they were startled by their leaders' strange behavior, so accepting, so quiet, well then Kris really just surprised them more. Whatever they had expected it had not been this energetic, green-haired youth who could not have been much older than Karen herself (actually he was a year younger).

But Kris had a certain sprightly charm that drew them in immediately. As Karen introduced him, his brown eyes sparkled as he grinned and winked at the audience. He had an irresistible swagger of confidence as he went up to make a speech. And when he spoke, the whole audience was drawn in.

"Good pokemon of this island," he announced. "Today your leaders have officially declared war on Jaquie. Now make no mistake. War is harsh and violent and requires sacrifices. I apologize for bringing this terrible plague on you. But let me just say that there are some things worth fighting for. Things like freedom, equality, and happiness. Things Jaquie wishes to take away, not only from us, but from you now as well. And though the battle may be bitter, the victory will be far sweeter, because there are some principles which should never be threatened, and we will show this usurping, inhuman tyrant that we will not tolerate her slavery of the soul!"

Kris' speech was fine, but it was the way he said it that gathered the audience, panting and bright-eyed, around him. Kris was loud and gripping. His words rang through them with passion and conviction, uniting them all under the banner of war. He darted to and fro on the stage, gesturing broadly, with a contagious enthusiasm that soon infected all the pokemon. Karen, quiet and lyrical, had gathered them up, like pieces of wood, stick by stick; Kris lit a match and caught them all on fire.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident," he declared, almost shouting now. "That all men-and pokemon-are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Kris, animated, looked the pokemon right in the eye, emphasizing every word he spoke. "With your cooperation we will restore these rights to humans and pokemon forever!"

The audience roared. War was hot and dreamy in their minds. It was like being a story. This passionate young man. This beautiful young woman. (And it wasn't hard for the pokemon to start gossiping about a romance between them.) A war to bring peace. A chance to save the world. And though some of the older pokemon grumbled and fretted, most of the pokemon, restless after centuries of peace, were swept away by this fantastic quest that they had the honor to be part of.

At quarter to six, Karen had to struggle to rip Kris and the crowd away from each other. Kris had already enlisted the aid of several pokemon and was in the process of building an army. But army or no, curfew was curfew, and they couldn't be late. Kris gave the four leaders orders under his breath and got them to teleport them home. When they arrived at headquarters, his eyes were still shining.

"Well, that was fun," he said.

"Yes," Karen agreed. "I especially liked your speech."

Kris laughed. "Oh, yeah, my speech. It was pitiful, I know, but it was the best I could think of..."

"I wasn't being sarcastic, for once," Karen said. "It really was good. You incorporated the Constitution and everything."

"The Declaration of Independence," Kris corrected. "But thanks. I'm glad you liked it."

"You almost sounded like you believed it."

"Who's to say I didn't?"

Karen looked at him thoughtfully.

"Anyway, it feels good to pull off the impossible," said Kris, stretching out his arms. "I feel so alive right now! Like this should be a holiday. Victory over Pokemon day. What do you think?"

"I think you're hopeless," Karen said, shaking her head and smiling.

"Thank you," Kris grinned. "Just wait 'til Victory over Jaquie day."

_. . ._

Jaquie was trying to write a letter to her mother. She was failing miserably.

She had gotten halfway through the first draft, when she realized that the sentence she was writing was rambling on and on, taking up all the space of a paragraph without saying one clear and concise thing. So she crumpled it up and began again.

The next time she misspelled a word. As she crossed it out it left a conspicuous blue gash, like an ugly, raw scar, on the creamy page. She threw it away.

Then it was that her hand-writing had gotten unacceptably sloppy, so that draft went in the trash as well.

It was only a simple letter; not a law, not a bill, not a congregational address. Why couldn't she write it?

Her head began to buzz familiarly. She got a couple of aspirins and a glass of water, then put a new sheet of paper on her desk and readied her pen in her hand. For several minutes she sat there unmoving. The paper was blank. Its complexion was smooth, creamy, straight. There was no folded edge or stray mark. It was perfect.

Jaquie crumpled that up too and threw it against the wall.

No one else knew. The drive of perfection, the price she paid for it, so high for so little. Isolation and loneliness, the feeling of being locked away in a tower she herself had built. Day by day, she provoked people's hatred by challenging them to a perfection they had never dreamed of, then she absorbed their hatred, with all its bitterness, until it contaminated her own self-image. No one else saw the turmoil of emotions churning below the surface of her calm exterior, emotions that wouldn't go away, but kept brewing and brewing until she wanted to cry...

Jaquie realized that she was drawing thin, reedy breaths and that her eyes felt moist. No, she wouldn't cry. She had to be stronger than that. She held her head in her hand and squeezed her eyes shut.

No one could ever see who she was. That would be too painful. Slowly, she ground up the aspirins into a fine white powder with her forefinger and put her stationary away.

Jaquie went outside. It was a clear night, as velvet black as a panther at rest, with stars like dewdrops embellishing the sky. There was a light, cool breeze blowing. It sang and whispered to Jaquie, pushing back her hair and dancing on her skin.

Jaquie remembered an evening like this. For two dollars she'd purchased a laminated map of the constellations, and she and Nidorino had struggled to identify them. As she grew older, Jaquie pieced together enough Greek mythology to pour out stories about the different creatures in the sky. The recollection gave her a thrill of nostalgia. She used to look at the stars quite often when she was younger. It was only in recent years she stopped.

Impulsively, she reached for her pokeballs and dropped them to the ground one by one.

Leah came out last.

She was still musing about Nidorino's words, the weight of restraining device heavy on her skin. Nidorino might be right as far as his situation went; in his world perhaps a trainer was preferable to the anarchy of wild life. But not for her. Leah had grown up a citizen of a world where rights and responsibilities were hers to guard. She couldn't live without freedom; it was sewn into her spirit.

But as she came out of her pokeball, Leah sensed a change. First of all, it was night, and Jaquie almost never released them at night. Nor did she usually bring them all out at once, at least not without throwing them into the middle of a battle. Leah spotted the Pidgeot named Aren, her only ally in her planned insurrection. Aren flapped over, and to Leah's surprise, although Jaquie watched warily, she made no attempt to separate them. It was the first time in the last week they'd been permitted to talk.

_Should we escape now_? Aren asked.

Leah shook her head. _No. Let me watch. Jaquie's acting strange, and I'm not sure what it means_.

Jaquie's pokemon gathered around her to gaze at the stars. Nidorino in particular came close. He sidled up to her, and she put her arm around him and petted him, softly combing the tips of her fingers through the ends of his fur. It was strange. The two barely touched, but as they stared soundlessly at the far-distant stars, they seemed to connect just the same. It was some mutual understanding that Leah couldn't grasp.

"Nido; Nidorino," he whispered. _Tell me again about the stars_.

"I don't remember everything," Jaquie said. "It's been so long since... and I'm very rusty." She squinted at the sky. "But I'll try."

Slowly, at first, but picking up passion, Jaquie recounted the tales. She was a terrible story-teller. Her unwavering confidence had vanished, leaving Jaquie with a monotone voice, frequent pauses, and an inconsistent style. But as Jaquie abandoned her grating command voice for a softer gentler one, Leah could detect notes of harmony in it. Somehow, Jaquie became a real person instead of just a dictator.

Then suddenly Jaquie's voice came to a halt. Leah looked up. The human's blue eyes were fixed upon her.

Jaquie was thinking of Giovanni. The thought had wandered into her mind and ruined her mood. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, his presence came back to haunt her every movement and action. But sometimes she wondered if it was really him who haunted her and not a part of herself. She hated Giovanni just as she hated what she had become and sometimes that hatred blurred into one entity, inseparable.

Nidorina squirmed under her anchoring device. Jaquie knew that she couldn't even enjoy the simple happiness that she and her pokemon shared. Jaquie had stolen her freedom; she had forced her into battles she didn't want to fight; she had driven her hard in a quest to become stronger, _stronger_, STRONGER. Without even asking if Nidorina wanted to be stronger; without even giving her a choice.

Jaquie got up and walked up to Nidorina. The pokemon's breathing quickened and her eyes became alert. A quick pressing of the button, a mechanically spring, and Jaquie took off the restraining device. She left it on the ground near Nidorina.

_Why, why, why_? screamed the logical side of her, to which something that had remained dormant inside her replied,_ because I'm not Giovanni._

Leah looked at the device on the ground, uncomprehendingly. The human had taken it off her. Why? Was this some sort of trick? But Jaquie didn't seem poised to attack. She had rejoined Nidorino and started her story again.

_You're free_! Aren shrieked, fluttering in delight. _Now our mutiny has a chance_!

Nidorina tested her freedom. She practiced a dodge to the left and a dodge to the right. No heavy device hit against her skin, disrupted her balance. She ran, and her body was as light as a feather. She leapt and twirled and spun, with all her old agility and ease, and it suddenly came to her that she was free. Completely free, completely unburdened.

_Come on_, urged Aren. _Let's start a battle now_.

_Why did she do this_? Leah wondered.

_Who cares? We need to free the other pokemon while Jaquie's guard is down_.

Leah looked at the other pokemon. Heads facing the stars, they listened to Jaquie's stories. The forest was only a few feet away and no one seemed to care.

She shook her head. _Freedom is a choice, and they've made theirs. They want to stay. Nothing we can do now can change that_.

_But we can still escape_, Aren insisted.

_Of course. I don't think she'll stop us._...

Leah hesitated.

"Daedalus was a famous inventor in Greek mythology. He made a pair of wings made out of feathers and wax, and he and his son, Icarus, flew into the sky." Jaquie's voice was as calm as ever, but now there was a sweeter element to it. Her story drew Nidorina closer. "Daedalus warned the boy not to fly too close to the sun, for if he did the wax would melt and Icarus would plummet to his death..."

_Leah_! Aren said.

She turned to him. _Aren, you go. I'm going to stay_.

The shock in his eyes was apparent. _But why_?

_Because right now, I don't want to escape._

_She could change her mind at any time and put you back in the restraining device._

_I know._

_Then why, Leah? _

_Because that is what I choose to do_.

Leah wandered over to where all the pokemon gathered, and sat down near Nidorino. He smiled at her, and they all listened intently at these foreign tales of human culture. After a while, Leah heard the rush of wings, and Aren wordlessly joined her. The stars in the night air and Jaquie's voice united them somehow in an invisible bond, in an unearthly peace.

And then a voice interrupted. "Hey you didn't forget about me did you?"

Jaquie smiled. "No, Jared, we didn't forget you? How could we?"

Jared held two cups of dark, steaming liquid. "Hot chocolate," he explained, handing Jaquie a cup. "I found a few packets in the bottom of the crate. I know you usually drink coffee, but I thought maybe this time..."

"This is fine," Jaquie said, taking a sip. "So, Jared, what do you know about the stars?"

"Not much, actually. We had a telescope at home, but I was more interested in taking it apart and putting it back together. But, hey, I know several sci-fi stories."

So Jared began his tales of traveling to the stars, and Jaquie leaned forward on her hand and listened. Birds chirped, insects buzzed, and the stars glowed. Nature was in balance as human and pokemon forgot their war and enjoyed the evening together.

. . .

END OF PART II

. . .

. . .

With the winter holidays coming up, I'm going to be busy with family stuff, so I'm going to take a break from editing this story (which has turned out to be a larger task than I thought). I'll return on December 28th and will start sending out the final 10 chapters at that time.

Thanks to all those who reviewed: Hopeless Awaiting, Flameboo, Adin Terim, Aura49, and especially Frittzy Crazy. I appreciate the support, which gets me through the hard times. A review can turn the bad days into good ones. I wish you a safe and happy holiday.


	30. Chapter 28: The Calm Before the Storm

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 28

**The Calm Before The Storm**

. . .

. . .

March 20th-3:46 AM.

Karen woke up with a start. Another nightmare.

She settled back down in her sleeping bag, trying to calm her heart back to its normal speed. Through specks of moonlight that crept through the cracks, Karen could see Kris laying prone in his sleeping bag on the other side of the room, his chest slowing moving up and down. His breathing was soft and rhythmic. Karen watched him sleep and envied him for it, hated him for it.

She closed her eyes. Several minutes passed, and she opened them again after several minutes. It made no difference. Insomnia greeted her either way. She hated the night. Hated how the calm let her think. Karen didn't want to think; she didn't want to dwell. But she had no choice. Even unconsciousness worked against her.

Kris woke up once, groaned, muttered sleepily, "What time is it?"

"Quarter to six," she replied. She was staring at the ceiling, watching glimmers of sunlight peep into the room. Her head was buzzing now, her mind bleary yet alert.

Kris yawned and turned over. "Wake me at 6:30."

And as quickly as that, he dissolved into sleep.

. . .

Jared woke up late. Yawning, wiping his eyes behind his glasses, he ventured outside to see how Jaquie's morning training was progressing.

To his surprise, all the pokemon were seated around Jaquie like children at a story time longing on the sweet grass engrossed at Jaquie's every word. Jaquie was reading aloud from an old, leather-bound book.

"Then at the point of death Lord Hector said:

" 'I see now for what you are. No chance

" 'to win you over. Iron in your breast

" 'your heart is. Think a bit, though: this may be

" 'a thing the gods in anger hold against you

" 'on that day when Paris and Apollo

" 'destroy you at the Gates, great as you are.' "

"What book is that?" Jared politely interrupted.

"The Iliad," Jaquie said. "Last night, the pokemon were so entranced by the Trojan War, I thought I'd read them the source."

"I didn't know you read to pokemon."

"I used to read to Nidorino all the time. I think educated pokemon are better able to think on their own, which helps their proficiency in battle."

"I've never seen you read to the pokemon on this island before."

"Yes. I neglected their education, which was a mistake. Pokemon need mental stimulus too. Plus," Jaquie added, "I think they enjoy it."

She continued to read until Hector's last breath. After he died, the pokemon let out disappointed groans. Jaquie promised to read more tomorrow.

"In the meantime, Nidorino, Nidorina, why don't you pick sides for a skirmish, while I talk to Jared."

Jared watched the pokemon organize a battle. "Nidorina seems happier. She seems much less rebellious today."

"Yes." Jaquie paused. "I left her out of her pokeball all night."

"And she's still here?"

"I was surprised as well," Jaquie said.

She remembered the previous night. After all the coco had been drunk and the last story told, Jaquie raised the pokeball to call back Nidorina. The change was immediate. The serene comfort left the poison pin pokemon; her fur spiked and her claws anchored into the earth. Jaquie put the pokeball down.

"Stay outside then," she said. "Run around. Leave if you like. But if you decide to stay, practice start just before sunrise."

Jaquie's voice, stayed even, though her heart thumped and her stomach sank. Another part of her screamed, W_hat are you doing_? _You're letting her get away, you idiot. _

Jaquie turned briskly into the house.

All that night, she struggled with her inner nature. _I have to, I have to_, she thought, polishing and loading the weapons. _For what good is it to take over Team Rocket, if I become Giovanni? I won't become him, even if it means losing Nidorina_.

But when she came outside the next morning, Jaquie found Nidorina curled up in the grass, sleeping.

Once Leah understood Jaquie wasn't going to put her into that pokeball, she left. She had forgotten the feeling of running through the forest at night, of jumping blind up the limbs of trees, her smell and hearing sharpened in a way they never were by day. She threw herself completely into the task, until her muscles ached and her lungs stretched. Then her senses adapted to the forest and her body reacted automatically, freeing her mind free to think.

She was Leah. A protegee of Gadara, the first in her class at battle school, the two time winner of the amateur pokemon battle league championship. A citizen of Mountaintop City. Twice she had defended against human invasion. She hated humanity with every morsel of her being, and she had resisted Jaquie's every attempt to tame her.

So why stay?

Why had she declined the honor of becoming a professional battler?

Battles were the sacred sport of New Pax, and Leah outdid all of them. Pokemon cheered as she entered the stadium and she entertained them with a dazzling display of energy. The competition crumbled spinelessly before her. Leah had the glory of being an island athlete. And she threw it away.

On the surface there was a thrill, but on a deeper level she had been unsatisfied. Her opponents all did the same things, were all educated with the same strategy. Dodge, attack, react. There was no challenge. Dodge, attack, react. As she maneuvered her way around their attacks, she felt mechanical.

With Jaquie, the pattern disappeared. Now it was attack, attack, react one day, and dodge, attack, dodge, react, react, dodge the next. Everything was suddenly new and different.

That was one of the reasons, she realized, that the pokemon Jaquie captured here had stayed. They were finally learning. The blanket of peaceful stability that surrounded them daily on this island was warm and stifling; this was exciting. That's why Nidorino was so devoted to Jaquie. She taught him, she challenged him, she made him great.

Leah had to admit that Jaquie offered much, but what she offered meant nothing without freedom. Freedom was the air Leah breathed, the water she drank, the food she ate. Nothing, _nothing_ was worth the sacrifice of freedom.

Leah found she had run in a circuit all the way back to the Team Rocket headquarters. Exhausted, she entered through the crack in the invisible wall, curled up against the midnight chill, and drifted off to sleep.

No pokeball. No restraining device. Running through the forest at night. The choice to stay or leave.

_Well_, Leah wondered as she dozed off, _if this isn't freedom, what is_?

. . .

Karen was twisted into a tense crescent shape, her sleeping bag wound around and around her body like wrapping paper. Kris slammed the door shut. Karen twitched, but her eyes remained shut. She couldn't still be sleeping though. Kris had known Karen to bolt upright at the slightest creak of a floorboard.

"I know you're awake," he said loudly.

Stillness contorted her body.

"Karen? Hey, it's time to go. You already missed breakfast."

She didn't respond. He moved closer. Her eyes were clenched tightly, and her breathing was rough and uneven. She was still asleep. A strange sleep, too heavy for Karen. It was like she had been drugged.

He shook her. "Wake up!"

"What?!" Karen screeched. She winced as sunlight dashed in her eyes, and covered her face with her pillow. "Leave me alone!"

"It's eight o' clock," Kris told her.

"What?" Karen's eyes snapped open. She pawed the floor for her watch and hissed profanities at it. "I'm late. Kris get out! I need to get dressed."

She scrambled out of her sleeping bag and began randomly throwing her clothes out of the dresser.

"Karen, chill, we don't have to leave for another half hour. Jaquie saw you weren't at breakfast and extended our schedule."

Karen ground to a halt. "Oh."

Energy drained out of her like oil from a robot. Her shoulder slumped and her arms hung limp. She rubbed her eyes.

"How many hours of sleep did you get?" Kris asked.

"I don't know. Three or four."

"You haven't been sleeping well all this week," he commented.

It was starting to worry him. Karen got bouts of insomnia every now and then, but never so bad that it wore down her health. Lately Karen hadn't been eating well, and she seemed paler than usual. Yesterday she even let him carry her load of weapons during an expedition-which showed how tired she'd become.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked.

Karen shrugged. "It's nothing. I start thinking about the plan and then I worry too much and I can't fall asleep. That's all." She yawned. "Even when I do nod off, the nightmares come."

"What kind of nightmares?"

But she wouldn't tell him. Instead she pushed him out the door so she could get dressed.

. . .

Jared began work on his psychic weapon in the morning. The work continued all through the afternoon.

He took apart a bazooka and lined its inner chamber with mirrors. There were two sections: the storage chamber, where pressurized energy was stored, and the release tube, that, with a pull of a trigger, blasted the energy at the intended target. The latter was trickiest and took him the better part of the morning.

After that, Jared unscrewed the flower-shaped head of the resupplying device and lined that with mirrors as well. He struggled to fit the phonograph head onto the storage chamber of the former bazooka. It was his hope that he could use the mirrors to harness the psychic energy of an attack and store it directly into the gun. Then the gun could be fired and the enemy would taste its own psychic energy. It was essentially the same as Nidorina's counter-reflect, except that humans could use this as well.

Jared heard Jesse and James leave after lunch, as usual, but he was still gluing on the mirrors and didn't think too much of it. It wasn't until he stopped for a glass of water mid-afternoon that he slapped his forehead in self-chastisement. He forgot to tell Jaquie _again_.

On top of his work table, just a few inches from his gun, was Jesse and James' tracking device.

. . .

Gadara's study oozed comfort. The walls were the color of fresh cream, and lavender curtains fluttered around the open windows. Gadara's lamps (which was set on a timer) were lavender as well. Tall oak bookcases sprouted up from the deep corners of the room. The chairs were like clouds, white cushions stuffed and overstuffed, with lavender embroidery on the edges. The fireplace crackled, a woody, smoky fragrance wafting over the room.

Everyone inside it was tense and cranky.

"Has Jaquie told you anything about arranging a meeting?" Gadara asked.

"No." Sunk deep inside an overstuffed chair, Jesse was prickly as a sea urchin. "I've tried and tried, but I get nothing. A simple no, and she goes back to work as though I'd never asked."

"Maybe instead of trying to arrange an interview, you should just drop in, like Jared does." Unlike everyone else, James was only moderately grumpy. "She's always polite to him."

"I don't doubt that she's polite to him," Gadara muttered. "He's a human."

"What does that have to do with anything?" James asked.

"It means that he can approach without the threat of being attacked."

"You think she'll attack you."

"Yes," Gadara said.

"So bring some of your little armies along." Even Meowth had joined in the general crossness.

"I would if I could," Gadara said. "Unfortunately, they're otherwise occupied patrolling the borders of my territory."

"Why?" Jesse said.

"Because _they_ are being difficult."

"Who is this_ they_ you're always talking about?" James asked.

"_They_ would be the other city-state leaders," Gadara said wearily.

"Well, what's _their_ problem?" James said.

Gadara sighed. "It's a long story."

"So," Jesse said. "We don't have anything better to do. Tell us."

"I'd prefer not to."

Jesse stared at her. "We've told you everything you wanted to know about us," she said. "But you haven't told us anything! You're hiding something, everyday we see you hiding something. The least you could do is tell us!"

"We are your diplomats," James pointed out.

_You were going to tell the other mayors, _Zeroun added._ These humans deserve to know_.

Gadara looked at him, looked at the parade of eager eyes all waiting for her reply. She sighed. Then she began to speak. Her warm, rumbling voice filled the room.

"The story begins when humans first came to my island. That was twenty-three years ago. Twenty-three years ago, I was a young, newly elected leader. We had just lost the last of the humans. The island mourned, and I mourned with them. For a brief period of time, we thought we would never see humans on this island again. We were wrong.

"The humans that came were different from the ones we had always known. They were cruel... vicious... brutal. Some carried whips; all carried pokeballs. As they entered the beach, some of my citizens spotted the humans and greeted them warmly. Their welcome was rewarded with an attack. The humans captured those they met and traipsed into the jungle, eager for more conquest.

"I was in the jungle with some of my finest battle athletes skilled. When the humans assaulted us we won." Gadara paused and a shudder passed through her body. "And yet," she whispered, "I will never forget the horror I witnessed that day."

The logs on the fireplace popped.

Engrossed, James leaned forward. "What horrors?"

Gadara's eyes drifted into the distance. "They opened their spheres and unloosed the pokemon they had trained. They were still wounded from their last battle. I could see the fresh scars, smeared with sweat and dirt. One was exhausted; she collapsed to the floor. The human beat her with a whip until her back was bloody.

"The pokemon the humans trained were savage. They worked themselves into a blood lust. They clawed and bit. They attached themselves to my warriors and refused to let go. They didn't speak, only growling and shrieking in rage. I saw the fear and hunger in their eyes. I saw how it drove them to madness." Gadara stopped. "Although my warriors were shocked, they fought well, using their superior training and experience. And so the victory fell to us."

Gadara looked at the members of Team Rocket for their reaction. James was pale, sickened by the mental image. Jesse was flabbergast into silence, while Meowth bristled in anger.

"Not all humans are like that," James managed at last.

"Were they from Team Rocket?" Jesse wondered.

Gadara shook her head. "No, not Team Rocket. But a criminal organization similar to it. And, yes, James, I realize not all humans are like that. The next group of humans were really quite decent, but by then it didn't matter. I was resolved, that, decent or not, no human would steal my citizens, condemn them to a narrow life within those spheres known as pokeball, and coerce them into battle for their amusement."

"What did the other city-states say about this?" Jesse queried.

"I didn't tell them."

"What?"

"I didn't tell them," Gadara repeated. "I was young. I panicked. My sole thought was to remove the humans to somewhere far away from us. Once we won the battle, we captured the humans and took their pokeballs. I erased the humans' memories related to this island and sent them back to their boat. All throughout that time, I never once tried to contact the other city-states. Without thinking about it, I had violated the Alliance Obligation.

"It's strange how one mistake spirals out of control," Gadara said reflectively. "When other humans came, I knew it was my duty to tell the decision-Senate. But these humans weren't quite as cruel. How could I convince the decision-Senate that humans were a threat without revealing I had broken the Alliance Obligation? Besides, I had learned that I could take care of the problem myself. So I did. I had my militias patrol the island. I had psychic pokemon create storms over the southern seas. I quietly drove humans away. For twenty-three years.

"Except that one group of humans did capture one of my subjects: a Caterpie. They ran off before we could tamper with their memory. My guess is that they were the ones who informed you, because you came to this island prepared."

"That's Jaquie," James said. "Always ready for anything."

Jesse snorted, but not without pride. "But I still don't understand what you meant by humans being a potential threat," she added.

"I took Meowth from you seeing he was poisoned..." Gadara continued.

"Karen was poisoned too," James pointed out.

"Really?" Gadara said without interest. "Meowth needed to be treated with antidote immediately. I also reasoned that after healing him, I would learn valuable information about you humans. Unfortunately, you did something I hadn't expected: you searched for him."

"Well of course they did," Meowth said. "They can't survive without me."

"Once you began to search, you wandered into the other four city-states. Witnesses saw you in each territory, and the mayors began to question me. But I could tell them nothing because I had violated the Alliance Obligation and still intended to."

"What do you mean by that?" Jesse asked.

"Is that why they're mad at you?" James asked. "Because you won't tell them anything."

Gadara sighed. "I would have believed that last week. Last week they interrogated me on every detail about humans. But this week I finally decided to tell them the truth and had Zeroun psychically contact them for me."

"What did they say?" James asked.

"They cut me off."

"What?"

"They wouldn't answer me. They refused to speak with me."

"Just because you told them about us?" Meowth asked.

"I didn't even get that far. When I asked Zeroun to relay a message to Kolb, he replied that he didn't want to talk. So I contacted Shalimar, Enki, and Vannack. Their psychic pokemon said, more tactfully, that they were all busy. I tried again the next day. Again no one wished to talk. The next day I got fed up and went to Kolb's city-states. There were guards posted.

" 'Let me through.' I ordered, 'I need to speak with your leader.'

"The guard looked me up and down and said coldly, 'I'm sorry, but I have orders. No one from the Southern Tropics is allowed in.'

" 'I am the mayor of Mountaintop City,' I told him.

" '_No one_ is permitted in,' he said."

"Do they know you violated the Alliance Obligation?" James asked.

"They must have," Gadara said with some frustration. "Why else would they ostracize me like this?" She poked the log in the fire. "I knew I would be punished, but not like this. Anger, accusations, a public trial, removal from office-I expected these things. But no communication whatsoever! And they put guards along my border." Gadara's tone changed from anger to worry. "Why? They must know I wouldn't attack them, and they can't be planning to attack me. Violating the Alliance Obligation requires severe action, but not blatant hostilities."

"But why did you violate it at all?" Jesse asked.

"I told you that in the beginning. You should have been listening," Gadara admonished.

"You said," Jesse clarified, " ' I could tell them nothing because I had violated the Alliance Obligation and still intended to.' Why did you want to break the Alliance Obligation now?"

"Because if I didn't the other city-states would have formed a peace treaty with you," Gadara responded impatiently.

Jesse, James, and Meowth looked at each other in confusion.

"But," Jesse said, "wasn't that the point?"

"What?" Gadara said, distracted.

"You said we were diplomats because you wanted peace with the humans," James said. "You told us you didn't want the other city-states to find out because you were afraid they would hurt us. But they want peace. So why don't you want us to talk with them?"

Gadara realized her fatal mistake.

"Why do you want to know about us?" Jesse snapped. "Why do you want an interview with... with my sister..." The truth began to dawn in Jesse's eyes. "You were going to attack us, weren't you? You wanted to get information so that you could defeat Jaquie! You were using me to betray my sister!"

Her passion startled Gadara. "Jesse, I merely wanted what was best for all of us. I wouldn't have hurt your sister. I would have simply captured all of you and sent you back home."

"All of us?" James said.

"Well, all of Team Rocket."

This rejection hit James like a slap, but it hit Meowth like a punch in the stomach.

"I'm part of Team Rocket," he cried. "Does this mean you don't want me either?"

"You're different," Gadara said quickly. "You're a pokemon like us."

"What about my human friends? They aren't good enough for you?"

"No, I don't mean that-"

"Of course, we aren't good enough for her," Jesse said. "All we're good for is giving her information so she can attack-"

"Silence!" bellowed Gadara.

The humans sank to their chairs, quivering.

_Gadara, Jesse, James, Meowth, stop this argument at once_, broke in Zeroun. _Look out the window_.

Heads turned. "I don't see anything," James said.

"That's because it's too dark outside to see..." Jesse stopped.

It was dark.

The automatic timers were set to go off at sunset. The lamps were glowing brightly, the base hot to the touch. They had been on for quite a while.

Jesse snapped to life. "What time is it?"

James was already looking at his watch. "7:30."

Jaquie had expected them home at 6:00.


	31. Chapter 29: Thunder in the Distance

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 29

**Thunder in the Distance**

. . .

. . .

It took all of Karen's nagging to tear Kris away from the crowds of roaring pokemon. Even so, it was still 6:19 by the time she pulled him aside.

"Let's go already. We're already past curfew."

"Relax," Kris said. "Jaquie's been coming to headquarters late. I doubt she'll even be there when we get back."

Karen relaxed. She relaxed so much that she had Kolb teleport them a few feet away from the invisible wall, just in case Jaquie was around. Sure enough, Karen's worst fears were confirmed when she and Kris walked into the headquarters to find Jaquie standing outside the door.

"Where have you been?" she demanded.

"Took a walk," Kris quickly lied. "Got lost."

Jaquie's next question surprised them. "Have you seen Jesse and James?"

"Not since lunch," Karen replied. "Why? Did they break curfew too?"

Jaquie nodded, worry etched into the taut muscles of her face. She drew out Nidorino and plunged back into the dark jungle.

"Ha," Kris said triumphantly. "See, I told you not to worry about being 15 minutes late."

"19 minutes," Karen corrected. "And the only reason were alive right now is because Jesse and James are also late."

"Oh, you're no fun. You worry too much, you know."

"And you don't worry enough," Karen muttered, but Kris wasn't listening. "I'm starving," he said, heading inside. "Let's get something to eat."

Karen followed him. Any hunger she felt was a numb and pale thing compared to her weariness. Standing in front of cheering crowds had sucked out all her energy, and all she wanted to do was go somewhere quiet.

In a corner of the main room, Jared intently pieced together a large gun. He seemed deeply focused on his work. He didn't even look up as they entered. Kris took the top off of one of the crates and rummaged for food.

"I'm so sick of eating fruit," he declared. "Day after day we have applesauce for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What I wouldn't do for a steak. Hey Karen, aren't you going to eat anything?"

"No."

Karen dragged herself to her room and sank down into the thin folds of her sleeping bag. She could feel the hard wooden floor beneath her, but she didn't care as long as she got some sleep. She closed her eyes.

Sleep. Sleep…. But just as Karen's mind was dancing on the edge of peaceful slumber, her mind startled open and dragged her slowly into the real, wake world. The sound of silence breathed noisily in her ear. Karen squeezed her eyes shut, but sleep would not be coerced.

Gradually she heard the sound of a door slowly creaking open and soft footsteps entering the room Karen opened her eyes again. Kris, balancing a triple decker turkey sandwich and a couple of apples, was tiptoeing into the room.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "I was trying to be quiet."

"I wasn't asleep."

"Well, don't mind me." Kris settled down. "I'm just going to eat."

He bit into his sandwich.

Karen sighed and sat up. "Kris?"

"Mm-hm," he mumbled through chews.

This was going to be hard to explain. "If we beat Jaquie—"

"If?" he interrupted. "Karen, there is no if. This plan's perfect."

"_If_," Karen resumed, "we do beat Jaquie by some miracle, what happens next?"

"Gloating." Kris grinned.

"I'm serious," Karen said. "What happens to Team Rocket? What happens to us? We could get fired."

"You think so negatively all the time." Kris bit into his sandwich again. "You need to work on that."

He wiped his mouth.

Look, after we defeat Jaquie, we'll steal her pokemon and keep her imprisoned. Then we'll go against Gadara's city and capture the pokemon there. We'll convince pokemon from our cities to join us on an expedition to the human world. We'll hand all these pokemon to Giovanni, and he'll be so pleased, he'll promote us right over Jaquie's head. We'll be the boss of her."

"That's your plan?" Karen asked dryly.

"Yes."

"You need to start thinking in terms of reality. Jaquie is Giovanni's favorite and always has been. Do you really think he'll take our side over hers? And even if she did, she still runs most of the organization."

"So?"

"So! She's the power behind the throne. You think a meaningless promotion will change that. As soon as she goes back to Team Rocket, she'll get her revenge."

"Maybe not," Kris said. "Not if we show Giovanni exactly how she's been pulling his strings. Plus, we'll have an island of strong pokemon to throw against us. We'll force her down."

"And what if she quits?" Karen said. "I told you she runs most of the organization. Take her away and the whole thing collapses."

Kris shrugged. "We'll figure out a new system. It's that or risk unemployment."

"What good is it to keep our jobs if we lose Team Rocket?"

"What good is it to keep Team Rocket if we lose our jobs?"

They both stared, at an impasse.

"Let me put it to you simply," Kris said. "We defeat Jaquie. We replace her. Team Rocket might change, but we'll still be there. And that's the most important thing."

"Okay," Karen said. "Now let me put it simply to you. Either Jaquie keeps her position or I quit your little rebellion. Right now."

"Now wait a minute," Kris began.

"And I reserve the right to tell her about our plan." Karen's fingers clamped around her pokeballs. "As soon she comes back," she added.

Kris stared at her, stunned.

He took step toward her, and Karen ripped the pokeballs from her belt. Kris abruptly stopped. A look of confused intensity replaced the usual mischievous glint in his brown eyes. Then his expression resolved.

"You win," he said. "Jaquie can stay second-in-command. But I'm holding you responsible for figuring out how to keep our jobs at the same time." Kris held out his hand in a businesslike manner. "Do we have a deal?" he said, with a lopsided grin.

"And you promise that you won't try to take over Team Rocket?"

"Sure, sure."

"Maybe you didn't hear me correctly," said Karen. "Do you _promise?_"

Kris dropped his smile. "I promise."

"Good," she said. "Then I promise to help you 'til the end."

Karen didn't feel better exactly, but a certain weight had been lifted from her chest. She took a deep, free breath. "So what do we do with the pokemon tomorrow?"

Kris went back to eating his sandwich with great gusto. "We need to plan our attack on Jaquie. It needs to be soon, before she figures out what we're up to."

"How many pokemon did you enlist so far?"

"At least a hundred followers in Kolb's city alone. The pokemon from Shalimar's city were harder to persuade, but I got a few. Fifty, fifty-five, somewhere around there. How about you?"

"Fifty-seven from Vannack's City, forty-three from Enki's."

"That's it?"

"Yes. I didn't want to recruit too many, since we still have to train them."

Kris rolled his eyes. "Well, technically we don't have to."

It was a yet another point of contention between them. Karen thought the pokemon were inexperienced and needed to be drilled. Kris argued that it was a waste of time, that they needed to attack Jaquie quickly. He began to rehash his argument to Karen now.

"The whole reason we chose these pokemon was because we wouldn't have to train them—they can beat Jaquie without our help. Training takes time, and the longer we delay, the greater chance that someone is going to figure out what we're up to. Jaquie and Jared don't seem to be suspicious now, but they're both smart. And who knows what Gadara will do if we press our luck? We might be able to squeeze out a week in order to teach the pokemon basic tactics, but other than that…."

Karen stood up. "I'm going outside."

A brilliant orange sunset colored the sky and a cool breeze rustled the leaves of the trees. Karen pulled in her arms and watched the sky turn black.

Kris came up behind her. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No Kris," she said. "I'm just tired, so tired."

Kris put his arm around her. He felt warm and comfortable. Karen leaned slightly back against him and closed her eyes. Just for a moment.

"We need a plan," he said, as his arm encircled her more completely. "If Jaquie realizes what we're up to, she'll attack us when we're most vulnerable. Or she'll escape." His voice whispered softly, as though intimating a secret to her. "Somehow we need to get her right where we want to, unable to escape, unable to call for reinforcements. We need to get her to play by our rules, and we need to do in soon."

"Yes." Karen sighed.

She opened her eyes suddenly. "What time is it?"

Kris checked his watch. "Six-thirty."

"And Jaquie isn't back yet?"

"Jesse and James aren't back either," Kris pointed out. "They must still be with Gadara."

"Jaquie must be going insane with worry by now."

"I don't see why she'd bother." Kris tried, casually, to pull Karen in closer, but she shook him off.

"She doesn't know that the pokemon on this island are mostly harmless. She has the right to worry about them."

Kris paused to consider this. The orange flames splashed across the sky slowly faded, leaving the charcoal color of evening. In this atmosphere of quiet, Jaquie teleported in.

"Did they come back yet?"

Karen shook her head. "Don't they have some sort of tracking device?"

Jaquie opened her hand, showing a small box with a red button in the center. "Their tracking device," she explained. "They didn't take it with them."

"Well, that was a reckless move," Kris said. "Wandering the jungle with no one to call if they got in trouble."

"Did they tell either of you where they were wandering?" Jaquie asked.

"No," Karen said.

"Well, actually..." Kris began.

Karen swiftly turned on him. "Well, actually?"

"Did they say where they were going or not?" Jaquie said.

"Well, no, not exactly," Kris said, clearly enjoying himself. "I just happened to overhear their conversation-"

"Where are they?"

"I can't confirm this; it's just hearsay. It may not even be true-"

"_Where are they_?"

"The ruins," he replied.

"Now tell me why I should believe you." Jaquie's voice cooled to a deadly steel. "Why would they go there?"

"I'm not really sure... Wait, I think, they said something about meeting a pokemon there. Which pokemon was it? Mew, Marowak... no, Meowth."

Jaquie jerked as though she had been slapped. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Kris shrugged. "I didn't think it was important."

Jaquie sucked in her breath and went inside the headquarters. She came back out with a black Rocket bag and an armful of weapons and potions.

"I'll deal with you later," she told Kris, as she pushed bazookas and revolvers into the bag. "Dodrio."

The pokemon emerged from its pokeball at Jaquie's call. She straddled the giant running bird and took off.

Karen shoved Kris hard in the ribs. "What the hell was that?"

Kris just grinned, unphased by her act of violence. "Get out your Maimer. We need to get to Kolb's City."

"What did you just do, Kris?"

"I put our plan to get even with Jaquie into action."

"What plan? We don't have a plan!"

"We do now."

"If you don't tell me what it is right now-"

"Get out your Maimer, Karen," Kris said impatiently. "Jaquie thinks the pokemon have lured Jesse and James to the ruins, using Meowth as bait. She believes they were captured or worse. She expects a trap…but not from us. With her sister on the line, she won't try to run away, she won't call for backup. She'll do what we want her to do: she'll fight. We'll have her right where we want her."

"But why the ruins?" Karen said.

"The ruins are halfway between our headquarters and Kolb's City. If we hurry, we can get our pokemon into position before she arrives."

. . .

The sun had long since vanished. Jaquie rode blind, trusting Dodrio's instincts, trusting him to blaze a trail through the overgrowth and vines. She knew her pokemon was running as fast as he could, yet she yearned to urge him, faster, faster, faster. As fast the wind, as fast as the pulsing of her heart.

It would be her fault if the wild pokemon hurt Jesse and James

Her fault. The phrase echoed mercilessly through her mind. Branches snapped at her, and the wind rushed by, the chill of it pushing into her skin. Jaquie could feel Dodrio's galloping gait, and her hands clutched the rough feathers. Darkness surrounded her.

And still her mind sang.

Y_our fault. This is all your fault._

The forest was rambunctious, every hoot, every scamper magnified by the darkness. She would have to remember the noises. If Jesse and James weren't where Kris said they were, Jaquie would have to go back and examine every sound. She couldn't forget anything.

_All your fault. All your fault._

She needed a plan. No sense in rushing into a known trap without some sort of strategy. She had 11 pokemon captured on this island, along with her core 4 fighters. 15 in all. Assuming Nidorina would cooperate...

Jesse was right. She should have rescued Meowth sooner. Why hadn't she tried? And now it was Jesse who would pay for it. Why hadn't she protected her little sister? Why couldn't she?

_All my fault. All my fault._

A plan! Some sort of plan!

What was that noise?

What if Jesse was hurt? What if….

_Everything is all my fault!_

_SHUT UP_! a voice inside her yelled. _Contain yourself. You have a job to do. You have to walk into a trap and walk out of it, with Jesse and James in tow. Moping won't save them. A plan will. So think of one. Now!_

The forest whipped past her, robed in shadows. Jaquie clenched her eyes shut. She had to rinse all the fear and worry and useless emotions from her body and will herself into a state of perfect concentration. Her face hardened into a mask of determination. She couldn't fail. Her sister was counting on her.

. . .

Jared smiled in triumph.

"I'm finished," he declared proudly, polishing his shiny new creation.

After all this time, he had created what no one else could: a psychic bazooka. His chest swelled with pride.

"I'm finished," he said again, louder this time.

He was greeted with a familiar reception: silence.

Where was everybody? Jared checked his watch. It was five minutes 'til seven, almost an hour after curfew. Dinner should be finished by now. Everybody should be preparing for the next day and settling down to rest. Instead, the headquarters was empty.

Jared did remember Jaquie going into a moderate panic because Jesse, James, Karen, and Kris were fifteen minutes late. He told her it was nothing and went back to work. A short time later, he recalled Karen and Kris had come inside. But no Jesse and James.

Jared peered outside the headquarters. It was dark. Jaquie was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she'd gone out to look for them. Karen and Kris weren't around either. Had she asked them to help her search? But why not ask him?

_Because_, Jared answered himself, _you are absolutely useless. You can't fight. You can't find your way to anywhere in the dark. You'd probably get lost and cause more problems. There's only one thing you're good at: intuiting things. And you bungled that up_.

Something had been wrong. All week long he'd noticed odd little things, but Jared, busy with his project, had chosen to ignored them. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

_Maybe I can figure it out now_.

Jared sat down on a crate and tried to think. What were the clues he'd picked up on and what did they mean? Well, to begin with, there was Jesse and James' lack of concern for Meowth. Their carelessness with their tracking device. What about their argument over _they_? Their desire to interview Jaquie?

What if they had already found Meowth? That would explain why they'd stopped pestering Jaquie to search for him. But Meowth had been kidnapped by the pokemon on this island, so how could such a reunion happen? Unless maybe the pokemon had arranged some sort of cease-fire between them. That would explain their newfound confidence.

No, but that didn't make sense. If they knew all that, they would have told Jaquie directly, instead of sneaking around with this interview. Maybe they were being blackmailed. Jared immediately thought of Kris, of the speed games and the makeup wars. Kris and Karen definitely seemed to know something. The way Karen had glanced up when she heard the word _they_...

Karen had stopped calling him a traitor.

The thought popped out of nowhere, and Jared stumbled over it. How had he failed to notice that she'd stopped insulting him? Karen had been—not nice, exactly, but not nearly as vicious as before. But did that mean anything? Maybe she was just ignoring him.

No, it meant something.

Because it wasn't just that she had stopped calling him a traitor. Karen was wearing blue contacts. Karen was having trouble sleeping. Karen disappeared every afternoon and came back exhausted.

Karen was hiding something.

And Kris knew what it was. He was covering for Karen. In fact, considering that Kris was the mischievous, wildly unpredictable one, chances was that he was behind the whole escapade.

But what was it? And why was it important now?

Jared's mind was reeling. Possibilities threw themselves at him, and they all came so fast and so formless that he could barely grasp one idea before he was assaulted with the next.

Karen stopped calling him a traitor.

Either she had forgiven him, she had forgotten him, or she had some other reason. What other reason? If her attitude towards Jared hadn't changed, maybe her attitude toward the word had.

Karen hated traitors.

Karen hated herself. That's why she couldn't sleep.

What about Kris? He wasn't losing sleep. He hadn't stopped picking on Jared. But then Kris didn't hate traitors.

Kris hated Jaquie.

Then it hit Jared. It hit him so hard it knocked all other swirling facts out of his mind and stood alone, perfect in its reasoning. All the hints and clues, all the secrecy, all the anomalies in behavior he'd observed, everything his subconscious had been collecting came together at that moment with perfect clarity and logic, and Jared leapt to his feet.

"Karen and Kris are planning an insurrection!"

. . .

There was a moment where nobody understood, where everyone just stared out the window at the murky sky and tried their hardest not to realize what it meant. Then James broke from the mist and sprang to his feet.

"We broke curfew! We're late!"

"Jaquie's going to kill us!" Jesse cried. "She's going to murder us alive!"

"This is my fault," Gadara said. "I kept you too long."

"Well, explain that to Jaquie," Jesse snapped. "Because she won't believe any excuse we give her."

Gadara paused, and her cream-colored wrinkled. "Maybe I will," she said softly. Then, decisively, she stood. "This secrecy has gone on long enough. When Zeroun escorts you home, I will come with you and explain to Jaquie—"

Chauncey burst in. "Chance, chance, Chauncey!"

Gadara frowned. "Kang, kangas?"

"Chance. Chauncey, chance!"

"What?" James asked.

"I must go," Gadara said abruptly. "Something has happened."

"What about us?" demanded Jesse.

"I'm sorry, but it will have to wait. I'll send Zeroun with you; he can explain your situation to Jaquie."

"But..." James began.

Gadara left. The door swung closed behind her.

"Well, that was rude," Jesse huffed.

"Come," Zeroun said. "I will take you home."

A purple flash engulfed the room. Two humans and two pokemon teleported out.

. . .

The patient in the Chloe's sick ward was a Marowak named Martinek. Minutes earlier he had been serving guard duty along the border. Now he lay in bed, his bone mask deeply scratched and the left side of his body trampled and torn. It sickened Gadara to see him like this. Martinek was one of her good friends.

"Kang, Kangaskhan?" she asked gently. _What happened_?

"Marowak," he said, trying to raise his head. "Maro, Maro, Marowak."

_They attacked us along the borders. A mob. They surrounded us, pounced on us. They were yelling. _

"Kangaskhan?" _What were they yelling_?

"Mar—Marowak." _They—they called us traitors_.

Gadara nodded, sensing the deep pain Martinek must have felt from the remark.

"Kang?" _Was that all_?

"Ro. Marowak, Mar, Rowak, Ro, Marowak." _No, they called us other things. Oppressors. Freedom-haters. Tyrants_.

Gadara turned to Chloe. "Kangas, kangaskhan?" _Where did this attack take place_?

"Chauncey, Chauncey, Chance, Chauncey. Chauncey, Chauncey, Chance." _He was found on the border of the Northern Shore. That's where the first and most violent attack took place._

"Kang?" _The first_?

"Chance, Chauncey. Chance, Chaaance." _Soon, following the attack on Kolb's borders, the other city-states attacked as well. Not as violently; just enough to break up our guard_.

"Kangaskhan, Kang, Kang, Kangaskhan?" _So now the borders are unprotected, and the other city-states are free to come into the Southern Tropics_?

"Chance." _Yes._

"Gar-tera." Martinek spoke her name with rough pronunciation. "Maro, Marowak."_ It wasn't just pokemon in the mob._ "Maro, Maro." _A human led them_.

Gadara drew in her breath. "Kang, Kang?" _Only one_?

"Mar." _Only one_.

Gadara's spoke her next words with deliberate calm. "Kang, Kang—" _Was she_— Gadara changed her mind. "Kangaskhan, Kang?" _Was the human a female_?

Had Jaquie done this to her friend?

Martinek shook his head.

. . .

Kris was gone.

Karen watched him go. His head bobbed high amidst the mob of pokemon, dark bodies running fast into the jungle. The mob soon disappeared into the thick of leaves, concealed from even the moonlight. And still Karen stood. She stood until the last echoes of their war cries faded and the forest was still. Then she turned and headed back toward the Northern Shore.

It was her idea to separate.

When Kris came into Kolb's City, he immediately began to call for volunteers. Now was the time to strike against against tyranny, he proclaimed, with fire in his eyes. Karen had marveled at the hot mettle in his voice, how he sprang lightly from pokemon to pokemon, recruiting each to his cause.

Given enough time, Kris might have rallied hundreds. But he had to get to the ruins as soon as possible, and so Kris stopped at 35.

"35 may not be enough," Karen whispered.

"Well, what do you suggest I do?"

"You go. I'll stay behind and gather more troops."

Now she was alone. Karen did what she said she would. She had the other leaders order their guards to attack Gadara's at the border. Then she began recruiting.

She wasn't—she couldn't be—as compelling as Kris. She spoke dully, holding back her heart, as though it was chained to the Team Rocket headquarters. From city to city, Karen dragged her feet, trying to delay the inevitable.

She wished they hadn't separated.

Kris was a good fighter, better in many ways than her, but he always leapt before he looked. Karen was the one who saw the danger signs. She was the one who pulled him away from the edge. He needed her with him now.

And she needed him, too.

She needed him to remind her why she was doing this.

. . .

Jared didn't have time to question the validity of his theory. No time to argue it, dispute it, examine it. Because as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jesse and James teleported into the room.

With Meowth. And an Alakazam.

Jared yelped, grabbed his bazooka, and aimed it at the psychic pokemon.

_Hello_, the Alakazam said pleasantly.

"Where's Jaquie?" Jesse said. She began nervously stamping her foot. "We have someone we'd like her to meet."

"Uh… " Jared said coherently.

"This is Zeroun," Meowth introduced.

_Jared, I'm guessing_, said the Alakazam—Zeroun?

"Yes," Jared choked out. His fingers gripped the gun.

"Where is she?" Jesse paced the room in large, jittery circles. "We're an hour and a half late. Shouldn't she be here to scold us or something?" She peeked into Jaquie's room, opening the door just a crack.

"Jaquie's not here," Jared said.

"Where did she go?"

"Why do your want to know?" Jared suddenly grew suspicious. "Are you part of Karen and Kris' coup d'état?"

"Their what?" James asked.

"What's a coup d'état?" Meowth put in.

"Don't even mention Karen to me," Jesse said angrily. "I still haven't forgiven her for stealing my make-up."

No, Jared realized, Jesse and Karen would probably never collaborate together. Jared felt stupid for bringing the whole thing up. He was beginning to wonder if his theory was even correct.

"Well-well, why's that Alakazam here?" he said, waving his gun and trying to sound confident, but probably throwing away the last remains of his pride.

_I am here to explain why Jesse and James are tardy_, Zeroun replied. F_or the last two weeks, Jesse and James have been acting as diplomats to Mountaintop City and today we lost track of time during our discussions_.

"Oh," Jared said, feeling very, very foolish.

"Hey," Meowth interjected. "What's a coup d'état?"

"It's a forceful, quick seizure of power," Jared defined.

_And you believe Karen and Kris are going to seize power_, Zeroun said. _Against… Jaquie_?

Jared blushed. "It's only a theory—"

"Again," James interrupted.

"My theories are sometimes right," Jared bristled.

"No, I mean Kris is going to try to overthrow Jaquie _again_."

Jared paused. "He's done this before?"

"Twice," Jesse said. "It never works though. Jaquie always wins."

_If he always loses, why would he keep trying_? Zeroun asked.

"You keep trying'" James said, "because one day you might succeed. One day you might do something to earn the boss' respect and prove to the world that you are not a bumbling idiot. One day you might even catch that elusive Pikachu."

"But Jaquie doesn't have a Pikachu," Jared pointed out.

Silence.

_I am receiving a message from Gadara_, Zeroun said. _Please excuse me._

"So why's Kris trying to take over Team Rocket now?" Jesse looked at Jared.

"I don't know," Jared said. "Maybe there's some resource on this island he thinks will help him succeed."

"Such as…?"

"Such as… the pokemon?"

"But Jaquie holds onto all the pokemon they capture," James pointed out.

_He's not using Jaquie's pokemon_, Zeroun said. _We need to leave. The other city-states have launched an invasion, led by a young, male human_. _They're tearing through the jungle as we speak._


	32. Chapter 30: The Storm Breaks

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 30

**The Storm Breaks**

. . .

. . .

Light from the park lampposts illuminated the throngs of pokemon forming bunches on the field, with more flying in every minute. They cried and chattered, whimpered and shouted. It was chaos, and Gadara stood at the center of it all, trying to reign it in.

"Kang, Kangas, Kang," she roared in a loud, steady voice. "Everyone stay calm. I'll be sending my militia to help any pokemon in danger, just as soon as I can."

"What about Jaquie?" Jared asked.

Gadara glanced at this new brown-haired human, fidgeting besides Jesse and James. Though Jared clung to an oversized weapon, his expression was bewildered. Gadara judged him to be harmless, if slightly annoying.

"Jaquie is not one of my citizens," she replied.

"You're just going to let her battle Kris alone out there?"

"Yes."

"Kris has her outnumbered," Jared insisted. "What if he wins?"

"He's never won before," James said, and Jared glared at him.

"I don't think you realize the severity of the situation, Jared," Gadara said. "In our entire history, this is the first time one city-state has attacked another. There will be anarchy and confusion, and my soldiers will be needed to control it. I don't intend for innocent citizens to be harmed in this grudge match between Jaquie and Kris."

"Yeah, but... but the grudge match is what's causing your citizens harm. If you stop it now..."

"Then, I'll put my soldiers in danger and possibly intensify the conflict. I'm sorry Jared, but my citizens come first."

"But Jaquie—"

"Can take can of herself."

_Besides_, Gadara thought, _if Jaquie and Kris knock each other out, then good riddance. One thing less to worry about._

Zeroun gave her a sidelong glance. Gadara felt a moment's guilt, but it quickly passed. Jaquie had built Team Rocket; she could deal with the consequences. Gadara resumed giving instructions to the incoming crowd.

Jared didn't know what to say. He knew Jaquie was facing uphill odds and he needed to do something to help her. But Gadara was ignoring him. He gazed around the park and his eyes chanced upon Jesse.

"What about you?" Jared said, turning on her. "Don't you have anything to say?"

"Yes," she said. "Gadara!"

The Kangaskhan leader looked at Jesse.

"I want to see the battle. I want to see my sister kick Kris' butt. I want you to have Zeroun teleport us, and I want a militia of soldiers with us to protect us from any stray attacks."

Gadara didn't know whether to laugh or scold. "I just told Jared I have no one to spare."

"But we're your diplomats," Jesse wheedled. "Or are we your spies? Either way, you owe us. You used us to gather information about Team Rocket, while keeping us in the dark about everything important, and what do we get out of it? You turned me against my own sister, the least you could do is—"

"All right," Gadara said, unable to defend herself against the accusations. "As soon as my spies locate her, I'll have Zeroun teleport you and any idle soldiers to the site. Provided you don't bother me until then. I have enough to deal with right now."

"Agreed." Jesse smiled.

"But that wasn't what I meant," Jared said weakly.

As usual, no one paid him any attention.

. . .

Moonlight sifted in from the trees and slunk silver beams atop dead and deserted statues. An army of them rose in and out of darkness, statues bent and distorted into leering demons by the dim light. Jaquie's eyes were intent upon them. Her fingers curled around her pokeballs. Wordless, she dropped them one by one to the ground.

The pokeballs snapped open, and Jaquie's pokemon emerged. They blinked into the darkness and murmured to each other. _Where are we? What are we doing here?_ Jaquie pressed a single finger to her pale lips. The conversation ended.

Leah tested the ground. The soil was softened by a mulch of rotting leaves, with less grass and clay than the normal forest. She sniffed the air. It was sweet and spicy and stale. She saw the statues and knew where they were: the Ariacourt ruins.

But why?

Leah scraped out a message to Nidorino on the dirt. He didn't seem to understand her writing, even though it was the same language Jaquie spoke. He did, however, read the question in her eyes.

_Jaquie's sister is missing_, Nidorino whispered.

Jaquie's head twitched towards him, then twitched back to the statues.

"Defensive," she told her pokemon. She stepped toward the statues. Nidorino followed close beside her.

The ruins took on her mood, silent, repressed, like a rainstorm before it rained. A large fountain sat in the center of the ruins, with pokemon-shaped relics facing inward. Beyond the fountain were more statues. Beyond the statues, if she squinted, Jaquie could make out the faint outlines of buildings. But no pokemon anywhere.

Jaquie stepped into the fountain. It was dried-up, empty.

"I know you're here!" she yelled. "What are you waiting for?"

Her voice echoed into silence.

"Jesse!" she called out. "James! Jesse!"

Aren fluttered next to Leah. _Should we escape now?_ _She's distracted_.

_No_, Leah replied. _There's something wrong_. _If we separate before a fight, the enemy will have a better chance of victory_.

_What if Gadara _is_ the enemy_?

The question made Leah's insides quiver. Most likely, the attack would come from Gadara; they were still on her land. And what loyalty did Nidorina owe this cruel, brutal human, her nemesis and teacher alike? But something about this situation just felt wrong.

_If they attack us, we fight back. We sort out loyalties later_.

"Jesse! James!" Jaquie's voice was growing louder now. "Jesse! James!" And Nidorino howled out too, adding his own voice of reason to the fray.

_You can't be serious_, Aren said, flouting his wings in indignation. _You, Leah, of all people siding with a human over_—

_Hush. _Leah's ears pricked up, her warrior senses stirred into arousal.

_What is it_? Aren asked.

_I'm not sure, exactly_, Leah said. _Be quiet and let me figure this out_.

Hidden beneath the forest thickets, Kris' army crept forward, quietly trying to surround their prey. A Beedrill hovered between buildings, and reported to Kris in broken English. "Niiidoriiina heeearzzz uzzz."

Kris didn't hesitate. "Tell them to attack," he ordered a Raticate.

The Raticate howled. Its voice jolted the darkness.

"RRRATICATE!"

Jaquie's pokemon turned their heads toward the sound.

The attacks came fast, like arrows shot from a taut bow. Fire, water, psychic, rock, ice, and pin missiles all flew at Jaquie's pokemon quicker than they could comprehend.

Instinctively, everyone reflected.

The attacks smashed against the glass walls. Fire filled the air with heat only to sizzle into a heavy steam when the water crashed into it. The psychic energy confused the rocks and caused them to explode like bombs. Ice rammed into the walls, recoiled back, and froze the pin missiles, throwing off their aim and causing them to scatter.

In a flash, the forest was awake with noise and confusion.

Jaquie, who had no reflect, ducked her head, and Nidorino leaped in front of her. He blocked, keeping Jaquie from harm. Nidorina did one better and countered the attacks. Part of the enemy cried out in pain, hit by their own attacks.

"Everyone into the fountain, now!" Jaquie shouted. "Who knows barrier? Tauros? Make a wall. Jynx, other Tauros, Rhyhorn, mimic him. Go to the edges, form a square. I don't want any attacks getting into this fountain."

She did a quick head count. Nidorino, Slowbro, Rhyhorn, Dodrio. Nidorina, two Tauros, two Pidgeots, Jynx, Magneton, Tangela, Flareon, Polywrath, Sandslash. Everyone accounted for.

How many enemies? Jaquie tried to count, but the glass barriers were clouded by the constant barrage of attacks. Too many, she concluded. Too many enemies.

"I need Nidorino and Nidorina here with me now," Jaquie ordered.

It would have been a standard retreat. Retreat, perhaps split the enemy up, double back, use constant guerrilla warfare to wear them down. But first she had to get Jesse and James.

"Nidorino, Nidorina, I need to find my sister. Hold off that army until I return with them. I'm putting you two in charge." Jaquie unzipped her bag of weapons and picked up an ice bazooka. "Fight defensive. Conserve your energy. I'll meet you back here." She looked out through the barrier. "Now, what to do about them..."

At the other end of the barrier, Kris' pokemon had formed a mob around the invisible wall and, like piranhas gaping at plastic, were madly trying to attack it—to no avail.

"Knock it off! Stop acting like imbeciles!" Kris shoved through them. "You're not going to destroy that barrier anytime soon, _so cut it out you idiots!_"

Somehow his voice rose above the chaos. The pokemon stopped wasting their energy and listened.

Kris looked at the barrier with loathing. He hated the invisible wall: it disrupted his pokemon's attack flow and gave Jaquie time to plan. And it reminded him of Karen. Karen who would have planned things out and brought ground pokemon to tunnel under the barrier or flying pokemon to soar above it. As it was, Kris had one ground pokemon, no flying. He might be able to get around the barrier some other way though. He looked at his troops. What did he have: water, fighting, psychic—

_Of course_.

"Psychic pokemon teleport into the fountain. All pokemon who can teleport, do it now."

To Kris' pleasant surprise, more pokemon than expected disappeared.

Jaquie had no time to plan an attack. Before she could even finish her sentence, an Alakazam teleported in. Polywrath saw it first. The half-water, half-fighting pokemon slammed it with a submission. More came: two different Alakazams, a Kadabra, a Goldduck, an Exeggutor, another Kadabra, a Starmie. They kept coming, flooding fountain pit like a tidal wave.

"Magneton, flash," Jaquie ordered.

A blinding white gold light filled the air. It startled the psychic pokemon, threw off their aim, and while they tried to wash the stars from their eyes, Jaquie added,

"Flareon, smokescreen."

The petite fire pokemon filled the air with dark smoke.

"Barrier, down," Jaquie said. "Everyone out of there. Now!"

The enemy pokemon lost no time in attacking as soon as the invisible wall came down, but the smokescreen clouded their vision and their aim was skewed. Nidorino and Nidorina were already leading the attack against them, clearing the way with hyper beams and organizing their teammates.

Crouching down low, Jaquie hid in the black fog as long as she could. The psychic pokemon were trying to attack, and Starmie finally got the idea to clear the smoke with a water gun. A stream of water tore through the mist; Jaquie felt the spray against her back and stumbled out of the fountain. Outside there was chaos; pokemon attacking left and right. And she was not immune to the attacks. A few pokemon blazed towards her; she shot them with her ice bazooka and dodged behind the nearest statue.

Nidorino saw her and blazed a trail for her; another hyper beam and the attackers' bodies spread across the ground. Jaquie ran past them towards the buildings where there was less commotion. Frantically, she began looking through them.

"Jesse! James!" Nothing but darkness. "Jesse! James!" Nothing.

She caught her breath, Noise abounded. Smells clogged her nose: night air, the forest, fire, dirt, and the faint odor of poison. Water gushed all around, not just droplets, but pouring floods. And from somewhere in the nucleus of chaos, was the steady cry of "Nido, Rino" and "Nidoriiina!"

. . .

The two poison pin pokemon took a quick council.

"Nido, Nidorino?" he asked. _What do you know about these pokemon_?

"Nida, Rina, Rina." _I know all battle athletes on this island have been trained to attack the leader first_.

Nido. Rino, Nidorino, Rin, Rino." _Good. Then we'll use one of Jaquie's strategies that we used against you. If we separate from the group, we can lure the main group away from us_...

..._And use survival tactics in the meantime to stay alive_...

..._While the rest of the pokemon use defensive measures and remain relatively unharmed_, he finished.

_Give the order then_, Leah said.

She began to show off her flashiest moves, ice beams here and thunderbolts there, a spectacular firework show. Nidorino swiftly dodged around three opposing pokemon and relayed the orders to the rest of the group.

They remained huddled around the fountain, spread out just enough to avoid being taken out by a single brutal attack. They were concentrated, defensive. The enemy made a half-hearted attempt to engage them. Meanwhile, on the other end of the field, Nidorino and Nidorina danced around, alone and vulnerable, a dangling prize. Seek the leaders and destroy them. The pokemon had been taught this from youth. They took the bait.

Kris climbed onto a statue so he could see the battle himself. He squinted at the outlines of pokemon. Fully thirteen of Jaquie's pokemon were guarding the fountain and only about sixteen of his own pokemon were there fighting them. The rest were off chasing Nidorino and Nidorina.

Nidorino had positioned himself near the southern statues furthest from the main buildings and away from Kris; he was ricocheting on and off them, playing a three dimensional game of tag. Nidorina played follow the leader with Kris' pokemon all around the ruins. Neither looked particularly injured by the pokemon chasing them.

"What are our soldiers doing down there?" Kris asked.

Beedrill answered, "Eeeleeemiiinate leeeaderrrzzz."

"Do they know you're eliminating them?"

"Izzz norrrmalll strrrateeegeee."

Kris turned on him angrily. "Why are you using it then? Don't you realize they're expecting this?"

"Expeeecting no matterrr..."

"It matters. They trained with Jaquie. She knows how to adapt to strategies; she'll have taught them how to counter it. Can't you do anything new?"

Beedrill looked at him expectantly.

Kris shook his head. "Tell your troops to stop chasing the leaders and attack Jaquie's main force instead. Quietly," he added as Raticate prepared another ear-piercing shriek. "I don't want Nidorino or Nidorina to hear. Let them think they're still in control. And another thing." Kris looked at the tightly packed group by the fountain. "I don't like how Jaquie's pokemon are so close together. Scatter them."

"Bbbut weee scatterrr too..."

"I don't care! We outnumber them three to one. We can overwhelm them. Besides I don't like them standing around like that. They look like they're preparing a trap... Or waiting for Jaquie."

Beedrill stared blank-eyed into space.

"Well, go tell our troops," Kris said irritably.

"Theeey know. Plllan beeegiiin."

"So soon?"

"Uzzze psyyychiiic. Teeeleeeporrrt orrrderrrzzz to eeeach otherrr."

Kris smiled. "Good job."

. . .

The pokemon perusing him had all the markings of amateurs. They had no concept of positioning; they bunched together in a tight group. Nidorino turned and blasted them with a hyper beam. They fell.

Nidorino leapt atop a statue. A single Goldduck stood on the ground below him, and the jewel in his forehead glowed. A purple psybeam streaked toward Nidorino. He jumped. His claws latched onto Goldduck's vulnerable stomach. Goldduck howled and blasted him with a watergun. Nidorino fell back.

A Tentacruel lashed out at him with a restrict. Nidorino dodged behind a large statue of Articuno, the legendary bird of ice. Slimy, poison tentacles reached after him. Nidorino leapt onto Articuno's tail and quickly climbed its feathery back.

Goldduck was back on his feet, eyes glowing red. A psychic attack. Nidorino reflected. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Tentacruel starting to slither up Articuno's back. Nidorino somersaulted, aiming for Articuno's left wing.

His front legs hit the stone statue but his hind legs landed on air. Nidorino was dangling, claws scrabbling, legs swinging. He let out a helpless cry. Tentacruel loomed over him, aiming poison stingers. Below him, water bubbled from Goldduck's bill.

Proof they were amateurs. Nidorino let go.

The attacks hit each other, hit the statue, exploded. The statue crumbled and Tentacruel fell off. Rocks pelted Goldduck, who ducked and shielded his eyes against the cloud of dust. He didn't see Nidorino tumble beside him, sparks flying from his fur. The thunderbolt ripped through Goldduck. He collapsed. Tentacruel crawled through the rubble. Nidorino finished him off with a double kick.

He turned around, panting, ready for the next attack and found...

Nothing.

The rest of his attackers had quietly deserted him. They leapt for the fountain, colliding headlong with Jaquie's core group. The pokemon there were being ripped away from each other, forced to battle against two, three, even four pokemon at the same time. They cried for help.

Nidorino ran for them, cursing his time-wasting shenanigans.

. . .

Her play for attention had worked well. Too well. Nearly a dozen pokemon surged behind her, including a tight-knit group of psychics. Leah ran through the statues as though life depended on it.

There were too many. She couldn't win a direct fight.

Leah sent out a double-team, figuring that multiple illusions would buy her some time. It did, but not as much as she anticipated. Dewgong, Seadra, and Starmie flooded the field and destroyed most of the copies. Only two or three remained. Leah used agility to make the most of these illusions. She darted in between statues, creating a trail of footprints like a maze. Her double-team images did the same, and her attackers were forced to split up.

Only the psychic pokemon need not run. The Kadabras and Alakazams teleported everywhere, left of her, right of her, in front, behind her. As more and more surrounded her, Leah realized that the last remnants of her double-team were probably destroyed. She ran even faster, zig-zagging madly to avoid them. The Kadabras and Alakazams aimed their attacks.

She stopped short. They missed.

But one Alakazam was smart. He had teleported onto a statue, apart from the others, and waited for an opportunity. As soon as Nidorina ground to a halt, he bore down on her with the full strength of his psychic attack. Leah writhed as invisible worms gnawed into her brain.

Fortunately, she had experienced this often enough with Jaquie to know not to panic. She inserted a reflect-counter. The smart Alakazam reflect-countered it back. More pokemon came up, piling on their psychic attacks. Leah tried a bide. She suffered through the pain, thrashing, letting her enemies think they were subduing her. Suddenly, they were struck with energy three times their own force. While they reeled back, Leah hit the dirt and began to dig.

She burrowed underground and came up right under the feet of some of the slower water pokemon. She ducked back into her hole, emerged in a completely random spot, and started running. Psychic pokemon materialized behind her. Combining their psychic energy, they aimed a wave of energy at her. Leah turned and was hit with the full blast. Screaming in pain, she aimed a hyper beam.

The white-hot energy tore through their psychic wave and sent the Alakazams sprawling down like bowling pins. But not all of the psychic energy was diverted. What remained punched Leah, pushed her back like a giant invisible hand. _Rest_, she told herself. She fell asleep right before she slammed into a marble statue.

They found her curled up at the feet of a chipped statue, eyes closed, breathing soft. Three Alakazams loomed over her. The first moved her still body high in the air, where she could not run. The second enclosed her in a disable. The third began working her mind over with a psychic attack.

Leah woke up and began to scream. She tried to reflect. Nothing happened. The disable held her fast. All she could do was try to stay conscious until it broke. Leah stopped struggling and focused her thoughts, just as she had learned with Jaquie. The Alakazams redoubled their attack, slowly grinding her mind into paste.

A white blur hurled down from the sky. It seized an Alakazam with its talons, shot high into the air, and slammed him down into his companion. The Alakazam holding Leah promptly dropped her and aimed a psybeam at the speeding Pidgeot.

Dodrio ran right into him. One head gripped the Alakazam, while the other two pecked. Alakazam tried to teleport. Dodrio threw him on his back and hurled him downwards in a seismic toss.

Aren landed besides his wounded friend.

_Hurry up, Leah. Get on my back, before the Alakazams recover_.

Leah's head pounded and her body felt limp. She slowly pulled herself onto Aren's downy white back. Healing energy radiated off the fallen Alakazams; their crumpled forms began to straighten. Leah hooked in her claws, and Aren began to flap.

They soared into the air, and the noise of the battle died off. Soon Leah could hear nothing but the rushing wind.

_You're safe now,_ Aren said. _Take a breather. Use rest to restore your health_.

Leah thought she should go back in battle and help Nidorino to fight. But her mind still throbbed and her paws felt clammy. Utterly exhausted, she took Aren's advice and collapsed into a deep slumber.

. . .

Kris began to feel that familiar adrenaline burst, that excitement that buzzed around his head. He shouted orders to his pokemon, dodged blows, and whipped his own fighters into a frenzy. Jaquie's pokemon were scattered, disorganized, and tired. Victory was so close he could taste it.

Bursts of flame and electricity lit the darkened sky, and Kris pushed his way to the fountain. He did this almost unconsciously, as though he couldn't help being the center of the fight. The action and the violence called to him, compelled like a siren's song, beyond reason or madness.

He wanted to see Jaquie. He wanted to see the look on her face, as it began to dawn on her that she would lose. He wanted her slowly sink into a pit of desperation. Then he would crush her army and laugh in her face.

Then she would know what it felt like to be him.

He hopped onto the cement of the fountain and was almost disappointed that none of Jaquie's pokemon were there to meet him. In a moment like this, he felt he could handle them all himself. Jaquie wasn't there, but he did find a consolation prize.

_Jaquie must really be distracted_, he thought, picking up an electric revolver. _She's becoming like me: careless_.

. . .

Leah opened her eyes. Her head ached faintly, and her skin still tingled with the memory of pain. Other than that she was fine. She had rested safely on the back of her friend Aren.

Suddenly, she remembered the battle.

_I need to get down there_, she said. _They'll attack me if I stay on you_.

_Relax,_ he said. _They haven't attacked so far. They don't seem to have many flying pokemon. Besides—hold on_. Aren aimed an ice beam below them and froze three pokemon who had been attacking their Polywrath. _Besides_, he continued tersely, _they aren't attacking the leaders anymore_.

Leah glanced down.

On the ground, Nidorino was trying his best to attract the attention of a Scyther, but it took a double kick to the nose to get its attention. Most of the opposing pokemon were ignoring him.

_But this isn't what Gadara taught us_, Leah protested.

_This isn't Gadara's army. I haven't recognized any of them. And they don't look like pokemon from the Southern Tropics. Too many water pokemon, too many psychic pokemon, they seem more like they came from—_

_The Northern Shore_, Leah finished. _Kolb's city-state. But why would he attack Jaquie? Kolb doesn't agree with Gadara. He wouldn't help—_

She stopped while Pidgeot used a thunderbolt to fry a group of water pokemon and used her own thunderbolt to help him out.

_I should be down there_, she said. _I'm useless up here_.

_No, you're not,_ Aren replied. _How do you think I've been getting ice beams and thunderbolts? I use mimic to copy your attacks. Anyway, you're safer up here, and we're at an advantage in the air. No flying pokemon. Here, help me with attacks_.

They fired fire balls at Beedrills and Exeggutors and were lucky enough to catch a couple of Raticates. One fire ball fell towards a Kadabra, and he used a psychic attack to repel it back towards them. Pidgeot fluttered out of the way, but the fire followed them like a heat sensitive missile.

Nidorino saw what the Kadabra was doing and tackled it from behind with a take down attack. The fire ball fell into the forest somewhere.

_Go down_, ordered Leah. _I_ _need to talk with him_.

Aren dipped and she cleared a landing strip with a variety of attacks. A few feet from the ground, Leah leapt. Aren pulled up and waited in the air, blasting any pokemon who got too close.

_How goes the battle_? Leah asked.

_Not good. We're scattered and they're united. Or trying to unite, anyway. Mostly by type: a bunch of fighters here, a bunch of water pokemon there. They combine attacks and plow through any pokemon that comes in their way. I've been trying to get them to attack each other, but they've begun to wizen up to the fact. I've used the ground and flying pokemon to our advantage, first a flying attack from above, then a ground attack from below. It scatters most of the groups, but the psychics are a pain, because they keep teleporting back together_.

_I know_, Leah said. _We either need reinforcements or a retreat_.

_But we can't do either without Jaquie_, Nidorino said.

_I'll find her then. In the meantime, we should put pokemon into pairs. You know, to watch each other's back._

_You can do that, Leah, since you're flying around anyway. And look for Jaquie. She'll be by the buildings. Oh, and tell her Kris is leading the attack._

_Who's Chris?_

_A human. A member of our team. He's back by the fountain, and he has the weapons_.

. . .

Jaquie pushed through the forest brush. "Jesse! James!" Branches snapped at her hands, and foul leaves stained her. "Where are you? Jesse! James!"

She kept thinking that if she could just go a little further, if she could just push aside one more branch, she'd find them. She'd know they were here. Jaquie ran and pushed and yelled her way through the buildings and then through the forest, around and around again.

Until at last she realized she was seeing the same boulder over and over again. She slammed her hands into it and fell to her knees. Jesse and James weren't here.

_Of course not. They wouldn't have left them here for me to find. You were an idiot to search. You're an idiot right now. Get up. Your pokemon are out there battling against impossible odds. Go to them._

Jaquie got to her feet, brushing the dead leaves from her knees, and lurched back toward the battle. Her voice was hoarse, and her panic dissolved into numbness. She clenched her bazooka. Every part of her was awash in rage and guilt and fear and every other stupid, useless emotion, except for that one place that criticized her every move. So she hid in there and planned in there.

Leah spotted her from above.

_Drop me off and join the battle, she said._

Aren hesitated.

_That's an order_, she barked and he did as he was told.

Jaquie very nearly shot her. But she heard the cry of "Nida, Nida" and stilled her trigger finger. Nidorina dropped in a few minutes later, gesturing furiously with her paws.

"Nida, Nidorina, Kriiii, Nidorina."

Jaquie shook her head.

She didn't understand, Leah realized. Quickly, she slapped a nearby tree with her claws, leaving deep markings in the tree. She carved out the words, _Chris at fountain_.

"Kris?" Jaquie said softly.

At first she didn't understand; then she understood too well. She rubbed her forehead. _Idiot, idiot, idiot_.

"All right. I want to see what the situation is."

. . .

The situation was grim.

Her pokemon were doing the best they could. Sandslash and Dodrio and Rhyhorn and Pidgeot were synchronizing their attacks. A blow from the ground and then a blow from the sky, attack, withdraw, attack, withdraw, skip a beat to throw the enemy off, attack, withdraw. And Slowbro and Flareon, Jynx and Magneton were paired as well: the psychics would teleport into a united group while their partners would use smokescreen or flash to lower accuracy. They were causing some confusion.

Unfortunately, Kris thrived on chaos. He was in the thick of the battle alongside his pokemon, firing weapons and frenzying the pokemon into an attack. The enemy swelled in their anger and seemed to grow larger. They swarmed like ants, biting and stinging.

Nidorino kept her pokemon from collapsing. He ran from group to group, directing, organizing, adapting, blocking...

...sweating, panting, falling...

"All right," Jaquie said. "I see the situation. I know what to do."


	33. Chapter 31: Psychics, Water, and Rage

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 31

**Psychics, Water, and Rage**

. . .

. . .

A spy came back with the news.

"They're battling in the ruins," Meowth translated.

And just like that they were away. Zeroun teleported the seven: Jesse, James, Meowth, Jared—who, though not explicitly invited, insisted he go—and three other pokemon who Gadara ordered to tag along. Zeroun chose a massive hill a quarter of a mile from the ruins. They could see only flashes of attacks when they squinted, so Zeroun enhanced their vision with his psychic powers and then they could see the battle just fine.

But this wasn't enough for Jared.

"Can't we get closer?" he said.

_Not if we want to avoid getting hit._

"We can't help her from here. What if she gets in trouble?"

James and Meowth laughed.

"Jaquie? In trouble?"

"It's Kris who should be worried."

"And anyway, if we try to help, we'll just get in her way," Jesse added darkly. "She'll call us a nuisance."

Jared sat down and sulked. "We should be doing something."

But Jesse knew better.

There was no point in even cheering for Jaquie. She always won. And even though Jesse hated Kris, she felt nearly as annoyed with her sister—or at least with Jaquie's perfect record. It almost made Jesse wish her sister would lose. She wouldn't, of course, but it would be nice to see her struggle a bit.

For now, Kris seemed to have the upper hand. Three tight-knit groups had formed on the battlefield: psychic pokemon to the north, water pokemon to the south, and fighting pokemon in between. In contrast, Jaquie's pokemon were scattered, drifting from fight to fight with no sense of leadership. It didn't look good, but that was all part of Jaquie's plan, right?

It had to be.

Jesse leaned forward on her hands.

Jaquie would win. She always won.

. . .

Where was she? Kris' fist clenched over his electric revolver. If Jaquie thought she could hide from him, she was wrong. She would witness her pokemon's defeat if he had to pry her eyes open himself.

His psychic pokemon were unbeatable. Their waves of purple energy sent enemy pokemon reeling and writhing. Clearly, they didn't need his help, so Kris jumped away and moved toward his fighting pokemon. They'd fallen under a confusion attack from Jaquie's Slowbro and Jynx. Kris fired his revolver. Electricity sizzled, and the psychic pokemon winced.

Kris re-loaded his gun. "Rage," he ordered.

It was his favorite attack. Confusion crippled most fighters, but on rage, they thrived on the chaos. His fighting pokemon eyes grew red. They frothed at the mouth. They punched through the enemy's psychic grip, ripping themselves free. Beads of sweat formed on Slowbro's and Jynx's faces. The more his fighters thrashed, the more their psychic grip wavered.

Suddenly, Jaquie's Flareon ran up, smoke billowing from her mouth. The inky black engulfed his fighters. Kris got the tail end of the smokescreen and jumped back. He aimed his gun at Flareon. Magneton appeared.

There was a blinding flash.

Kris shut his eyes, but the light pierced his lids. His revolver went off, but he heard no cry from Flareon. Missed. Sparks danced across his vision. He blinked them out. Magneton had vanished, and Flareon's smokescreen was growing thicker all around him. Bursts of light shivered through the smoke, like lightning through storm clouds.

He had to get out of there. Kris ran from the center of the noise. His fighters would be all right. Messing with their aim would only enrage them more and make their punches that much more powerful. But Kris still needed to see.

He still needed to find Jaquie.

Once he had her, he'd be victorious. Until then, doubt remained.

His water pokemon seemed to encounter the most difficulty, and they had only a Tauros and Nidorino to deal with. Unfortunately, it was _the_ Nidorino, the damn favorite of Jaquie. He'd gotten on Tauros' back and was riding circles around Kris' water pokemon. Thunderbolts flew from them, forcing his water pokemon to back up.

Kris tried to shoot the damn thing, but Tauros set up a barrier and the electrical burst fizzled against the glass. The barrier came down. Nidorino hurtled at Kris. Kris swerved. The horn nicked his arm, threw him off balance. He was falling. Kris hit the ground, rolled, and quickly fired his gun at the pink blur.

Nidorino dodged.

Omastar moaned as the shock ran through his body. Kris cursed through clenched teeth. He'd just hit one of his own.

"Don't just stand there," he yelled at his pokemon. "Get Nidorino!"

His water pokemon lumbered forward. Nidorino nimbly hopped back onto the back of Tauros. He reflected, while Tauros ripped out a thunderbolt. Kris' pokemon squealed.

They were just too slow, he realized. Water pokemon could be clumsy on land. Nidorino knew and was taking advantage of that fact. Well, if that's the way he wanted to play, so be it. Kris would even up the odds.

"Hydro pump," he ordered. "Turn this field into mud."

Geysers erupted, jet streams that shot right underneath the legs of Tauros. The bull pokemon let out a loud low and fell sideways, legs tangled. Water pummeled him, sprays so powerful they physically pushed him along the ground.

Nidorino leapt off, trying to fight the onslaught of water. But he had no solid footing. Everything was slippery. He slid and skated without any control, moving too fast, until suddenly he smacked head-first into a stream of water. Nidorino crashed backwards into the mud.

He tried to stand, but water pokemon surrounded him like vultures. Nidorino bristled, and water dripped off his fur. Suddenly, he felt the cold barrel of a gun press against the back of his head.

"Well, well, well," Kris said. "It looks like I don't need to find Jaquie, after all. Now that I have you, she'll come straight to me."

. . .

_I'm trapped. I can't get out._

Flareon's cries broke through the black haze. Leah jumped into the fray. She landed on a fighter's head. He swiped at her, and she dodged. She felt the breeze from his fist go by her. More kicks and punches came at her. Leah used agility to sprint through the fight. It was impossible to avoid all blows, but at least if she kept moving, they couldn't grab her.

_Leah!_ Flareon yelled.

_I'm coming. Where are you?_

It was pitch dark in the cloud of smoke. Suddenly, a ball of fire shot up and explored just yards in front of her. Leah leapt towards it. A flash of light shot through the darkness. For a brief moment, she saw Flareon's curled up body held down by many hands. Then the light intensified and Leah's vision became white.

She was utterly blind. But she held that single image in her mind and aimed. Pin missiles flew through the air. Fighting pokemon growled in rage. Poison was weak against their hardened skin, but it would loosen their grip just enough.

_Get ready_, she told Flareon.

She attacked. She twirled and bit, until the fighters let go of Flareon and started to pummel her. Their strength hurt her, but she hardened her body and endured their blows. Just a couple more bites and...

_I'm free_, Flareon shouted.

_Dig!_

While dirt flew, Leah held off the fighters just a little longer. Then, she dove into the hole after Flareon, using an ice beam to seal the entrance shut behind her. They ran through the earth, popping up in the jungle. Flareon collapsed the tunnel.

For a minute, they rested underneath the covers of the trees, panting.

_You did good_, Leah said._ Now_ _get to City Hall_. _Jaquie will give you further instructions._

As Flareon left, Leah watched the smoke-covered field. Suddenly, a large white Pidgeot burst from the cloud of black. Aren lifted Magneton in his claws and carried him up from the smoke. He dropped him in the forest just a few feet from the ground near Leah. The magnet pokemon hovered.

_Back_ _to City Hall_, she ordered.

Magneton left. Leah jumped on Aren's back. He flapped high into the air, a shadow in the murky black sky.

_What next?_ he asked.

_Now we have only the water pokemon to worry about_. _And we still have to tell Nidorino Jaquie's plan. He especially needs to know._

_Do you know where he is?_

A cry ripped through the night air. "Lrriiia!"

It broke off.

_That's him_, she cried. _He's in trouble_.

_I see him_, Aren said. _Hold on_.

Wind ruffled Leah's fur as Aren began to dive down.

. . .

"Hold him tight," Kris said. "Don't let him wriggle free. Restrict him."

Tentacruel wrapped his tentacles around Nidorino and squeezed. The poison pin pokemon was almost completely covered; only his head stuck out from the mass of tentacles. A nearby Golduck deflected all special attacks with his mind. It would be child's play to paralyze Nidorino or slap him in a disable. But Kris didn't want that.

He reached into his vest.

Ever since he first took over the leader's minds, he'd kept the last vial of amnesia serum loaded into Jared's modified liquid revolver. Kris lifted the gun from his vest. What better way to use it than to claim the mind of Jaquie's favorite pokemon.

Nidorino lifted his chin. "Lrriiia!" he shouted.

Golduck's eyes glowed, and Nidorino's scream cut off.

"Ease up," Kris told Golduck. "Don't make him faint. He needs to be awake when I hit him with the amnesia serum."

Fear lit Nidorino's eyes. He started to thrash his head.

"So you do know what amnesia serum is?" Kris said. "Good."

He brought the gun up to Nidorino's face.

A gust blew his hair, a shriek sounded from above. Kris glanced up.

He saw the edges of two white-feathered wings and a whirlwind forming right between him. Kris took his finger off the trigger. The tornado hit. Wind howled in his ears. Sand cut into his skin like razors. The revolver started to slip from his fingers He tightened his grip. He wanted to press the gun to his chest to keep it safe, but he couldn't get his arm to move. His limbs flailed, pinned by the centrifuge of the wind. Black sky surrounded him.

He was tumbling through the air. As soon as the whirlwind stopped, he'd be falling. Kris let his body go limp. _Hold onto the liquid revolver_, he thought. _Just hold onto that_. The wind vanished, and gravity kicked in. Kris cradled the gun to his chest and shut his eyes. _Hold on, just hold on—_

CRASH.

A pounding ripped through his head. Everything went black.

Claws dug into his side. He groaned. Dizziness pulsed against his brain. He felt his body being lifted. What was going on? He wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn't. Consciousness was trying to warn him of something. Something screeched. Pidgeot... Wind blew over him. He was flying... Pidgeot had him. Pidgeot was carrying him away, carrying him to Jaquie...

No. Kris opened his eyes. No, he wasn't going to lose to her, not like this. But Pidgeot held him by the waist. Kris couldn't fight this way, not when he could barely keep his eyes open.

The gun still dangled from his fingertips. Kris closed his fist around it, until his grip on the weapon was firm. He lifted his arm, aiming the barrel of the gun straight up. He fired.

. . .

The whirlwind did its work well. It captured the human right before he shot Nidorino and hurled him into the air. While the enemy water pokemon blinked in surprise, Leah leapt off Aren's back.

_You take care of the human_, she yelled. _I'll free Nidorino_.

Her fur sparked. She shot a thunderbolt at Tentacruel. He reflected it back at her. She countered it. The electricity zigzagged between them like a mad lightning bolt. Suddenly, Tentacruel cried out. Nidorino had sunk his teeth into his top tentacle. Tentacruel lost his concentration right as the thunderbolt boomeranged back. Electricity zapped him, and Tentacruel moaned, tentacles falling limp. Nidorino wriggled loose.

_Leah, behind you, _he shouted._ Look out!_

She turned.

A wave of psychic power slammed into her mind. Leah screamed. Golduck's eyes glowed red. He lifted a webbed hand, raising her into the air. Leah thrashed in pain, trying to insert a bide, when suddenly—

Nidorino slammed Golduck right in the stomach. The psychic grip broke, and Golduck fell back. He lifted his hand again, trying to summon his psychic power, but Leah kicked him twice and Nidorino finished him off with a head butt.

_Thanks_, she said.

_We're outnumbered_, he said tersely.

The other water pokemon, who'd been slow on the uptake, formed a circle around them, fountains foaming from their mouths. Leah glanced at the knocked out Golduck. _Please know teleport, please know teleport_, she prayed. The water pokemon fired. Leah used mimic. A tidal wave of water surged at them.

Concrete surrounded them, muting the sounds of the battle. Leah blinked. Somehow, she'd teleported back into the fountain, though it was deserted now. Jaquie's empty black bag lay at her feet. Leah turned her head, saw Nidorino, and breathed a sigh of relief.

_It worked_, she said.

_Tauros is still out there_, Nidorino pointed out.

_I'll bring him back._

Teleport was still fresh in her mind. She blinked and found herself standing on mud, surrounded by puzzled-looking water pokemon. Leah leapt from their ring and ran until she found crumpled form of Tauros. The pokemon chased after her, water guns ablazing. She smiled. Water poured forth. Leah blinked, and instantly she was back at the fountain.

_Here's Tauros_, she said. _But I think he's unconscious._

_Leave that to me_.

Nidorino shredded the black bag with his claws.

_What are you doing?_ she asked. _Kris already took everything in there._

_Not everything._

One last rip. Clink. Nidorino picked up a glass bottle between his paws.

_Jaquie always keeps a revive in a hidden pouch_.

He crushed the bottle over Tauros. The liquid seeped into his fur. Tauros gave a groan.

_It will take a minute to work_, he explained.

_We seem to be safe here for now_. Leah looked around.

In the night sky, the figure of a white bird flitted over the stars. Aren carried the human like a fish in his claws. The human writhed and tried to lift an arm, but the movement seemed weak and futile. Leah smiled.

_The battle will be over soon, now that Aren's caught Kris._

_What?_ Nidorino raised his head. _He needs to let go of him. Kris has—_

Aren stumbled, mid-flap. His wings went rigid and he dropped like a stone,

_Aren!_ Leah hopped onto a statue.

_Don't go after him!_ Nidorino said. _Kris has amnesia serum. He used it on Aren._

_Amnesia serum?_ Leah felt her insides grow cold. _I thought you made that up_.

_I don't have that kind of imagination, Leah. _

_But are you sure Kris really has it? Maybe it's a mistake..._

Her voice trailed off. Pidgeot righted himself in the air, turned sharply, and headed back toward the group of water pokemon. He did not try to attack. Instead, he set Kris gently on the ground.

_Aren would never do that_, she whispered. _He wouldn't join the enemy._

_It's not Aren. The amnesia serum has stolen his mind. I'm sorry._ He pressed his head against her shoulder. _We need to tell Jaquie._

_Nidorino..._

_Yeah?_

Her voice was hollow. _Kris is dead_.

He nodded. _Yeah_.

. . .

"Stupid waste of amnesia serum," Kris grumbled under his breath.

He could have gotten the best of Jaquie's pokemon, but no, he ended up with a big useless bird. It just stood there, glassy-eyed and motionless, while his water pokemon swarmed around it. Kris rubbed his pulsing head.

"Pidgeot is one of us now. I convinced him to switch sides." He looked around. "Where's Nidorino?"

His water pokemon's eyes dropped.

"You let him escape, didn't you? Wonderful!" Kris kicked the ground. "We were so close to winning, and you botched it! Well, what are you standing around for? Get back into the battle and fight!"

They lumbered off. Kris picked up his electric revolver from where he'd dropped it on the floor. He spied Beedrill buzzing around a statue and signaled for the pokemon to come talk to him.

"Has anyone seen Jaquie yet?" Kris asked

"Not zzeeen."

"How hard is it to find one person?"

"Iiizz dddarrrk," Beedrill protested. "Sheee's hidiiing. Caaan't get thrrrooough baaattllle."

"If we wait too long, she'll run and we'll lose our one chance of winning." Kris paced. "Someone has to know where she is!"

He stopped. He looked at Pidgeot. He tilted his head.

"Maybe it's not such a waste, after all," he said.

. . .

Jaquie stared at the scratches on the floor.

"Kris has one of our Pidgeots," she read, somehow managing to keep her voice calm. "I see. I'm sorry Nidorina. I wasn't aware we brought amnesia serum to the island. Someone must have slipped them in while I was packing."

It profoundly disturbed her. How many vials had gotten packed? Kris could crush the mind of any or her pokemon. Maybe all of them. She looked at them. Jynx stood near the door, creating an illusion of emptiness and Polywrath sat meditating. Everyone else lay curled up and asleep on the floor, using rest to recover their full strength. Jaquie had lost one, and that was bad enough. She couldn't afford to lose any more.

But even if Kris didn't have more amnesia serum, they could still be in danger. Pidgeot knew at least some of her plan. If Kris ordered Pidgeot to tell it to him, the whole thing would fall apart. Jaquie needed to make sure he didn't ask. She needed to distract him. Right now, she couldn't spare any of her pokemon, but that was fine. She knew of a far more appealing bait.

Jaquie slung her ice bazooka on her shoulder.

"Everyone has their instructions. Nidorino, Nidorina, supervise the our forces and help wherever its needed. You're both in charge of cleaning up the trash." She stepped through the illusion. "I'll find Kris and—"

She stopped

Kris stood outside the door, his electric revolver pointed at her chest.

"Gotcha."

He pressed the trigger. Hot, frying pain raced down her chest. The nerves in her arms burned, and a flash of light exploded in her eyes.

The next thing Jaquie knew, she was sprawled on the ground. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. For one terrifying moment, Jaquie was afraid she'd been paralyzed. Then her legs twitched, and her arms pushed up. She wobbled to her feet, dizzy.

Nidorino tore at Kris like a demon, biting and kicking and plowing with his horn. He seemed impervious to Kris' electric blasts and later, when he ran out of ammunition, Kris' blows.

"Stop," Jaquie ordered, grabbing up her bazooka. "Save yourself."

Nidorino bristled.

"That's an order!"

Nidorino gave Kris one final kick and disappeared back into City Hall.

She had to be the one to distract him. But she was in no condition to fight. Pins and needles ran down her arms, and her fingers felt swelled to the size of sausages. She could hardly drag the bazooka, let alone lift it to her shoulders to fire. There was just one choice. She had to run.

Kris wiped the blood that dribbled down his face. Mangy pokemon. He aimed his electric revolver at Jaquie's wobbling figure and fired. His gun clicked. He'd wasted all his ammunition. He cursed and re-loaded.

"Pidgeot," he yelled. "Come here."

The bird patiently waited for Kris to hop on his back.

"Fly low. Keep close to Jaquie."

Jaquie's legs screamed. They were in better shape than her arms, but not by much. The jungle loomed in her vision up ahead. If she could just get there, she'd be all right. But it seemed so far. Seconds passed like hours, and the jungle hardly got closer. Jaquie's toe hit a rock. She stumbled, nearly fell.

A bolt of electricity shot past her shoulder and hit the dirt in front of her, forming an ugly black mark. Jaquie didn't bother to glance back. The angle was too high. Kris was coming at her from the air. Jaquie stopped abruptly and leapt to the side. Electricity singed her hair. She turned sharply, zigzagging wildly.

Kris felt sick. Pidgeot was taking his orders too literally, turning as Jaquie did in an effort to keep close. It threw off his aim and made his previous nausea rise to his mouth. He clenched his jaw and kept firing. Jaquie dove for the forest. Kris shot. The electricity hit a sapling.

Kris reached into the pockets of his vest to reload. He was out of ammunition.

"Great," he muttered.

He still had a few more rounds, left at the Hall of Commerce, where he'd stashed all his stolen supplies. But if he went back he'd probably lose Jaquie. And he was so close to nabbing her.

"Glide into the trees," he yelled. "Dive down at her."

Pidgeot swooped under the brush.

No Jaquie.

Kris frowned. "She must here somewhere. Circle around."

The darkness made things hard to see, so instead he listened. If Jaquie made any sort of move in this thick underbrush, he'd hear it. But there was nothing, not even breathing. She was definitely hiding. He squinted and saw a glint of metal poking out from behind a tree.

"There! She's—"

Crack.

Pidgeot tilted madly. Kris lost his balance, and had to dig his fingers into Pidgeot's feathers to keep from falling off. Another crack. Pidgeot moaned and plummeted toward the ground.

Two shots. Two wings frozen. Jaquie gripped her ice bazooka.

She wanted so badly to fire a third, to shoot Kris as well, but there was no time. Pidgeot dropping quickly. Jaquie leapt out of the way, and Pidgeot hit the bushes a little groan and closed his eyes. Clenching tight to her ice bazooka, Jaquie walked up to the unconscious bird. Kris was nowhere to be seen.

Jaquie pressed her back against a tree and kept perfectly still. She looked left and right, up and down. Nothing. She held her breath. She could hear Kris crashing through the brush—away from her. He was running back toward the battle.

Damn it, damn it, damn it. He was going to lose her again, and all because he hadn't brought back up. Kris had a whole group of psychic pokemon. Why hadn't he gotten some of them to chase Jaquie, too?

The psychic pokemon weren't too far from the Hall of Commerce. They formed a tight circle and bore down on a miserable knot of Jaquie's pokemon: Dodrio, Pidgeot, Tangela, and Magneton. Kris could waves of psychic energy surrounding the huddled pokemon like a force field, but it never quite hit the enemy.

Upon closer inspection, he realized the psychic energy was bouncing back and forth between the two groups, like a pinball but faster. Jaquie's pokemon used reflect-counters to deflect the psychic energy. So did Kris' psychics. For now it was a stalemate of counterattacks, but Kris had more pokemon. Soon, Jaquie's pokemon would fail and the tidal wave of psychic energy would crush them.

The psychics were in fine condition. They could spare a few extras.

"Can I get someone to help?" Kris yelled.

A Kadabra turned.

Crack.

Ice flew past Kris and froze the Kadabra.

Kris had the weird urge to smile. Maybe, he hadn't lost Jaquie after all.

"Distract her," he told Kadabra. "I'm gonna re-load."

If he could, he wanted to deal the blow himself. Kris dove into the Hall of Commerce, grabbed what remained of his ammunition—and for good measure, he stuffed some revives in his pocket.

He came back just in time to see Nidorino crash into his Kadabra. Kris fired his electric revolver. Nidorino dodged, glared at him, and dove straight into the middle of the ring of psychics.

"Where's Jaquie?" Kris yelled.

Kadabra shook his head.

"You're all useless! Get back to your fight. I'll find her myself."

He ran back into the woods. He found Pidgeot, stuck a revive in his liquid revolver, and shot him. As the bird woke, Kris straddled its back.

"We're going to find Jaquie."

They circled the battlefield.

Some kind of bizarre strategy was going on where the fighters raged. Jynx, Slowbro, and both Tauros formed invisible walls and closed in on the fighters. It was like they were trying to build in a giant, smoke-filled invisible box. Kris thought of shooting one, maybe Slowbro, but what was the point?

His fighters were using rage. Fencing them in was only going to make them stronger. Besides, they had already started to punch their way out of the box. Fists broke through the glass. Jaquie's psychic pokemon might have an advantage over his fighters, but with all their rage, it wouldn't matter. His pokemon were beyond pain.

A fresh set of footprints ran across the mud, close to where his water pokemon battled. That had to be her. The footprints led into the forest. If she thought to trap him again, she was wrong. This time he'd hunt her. Kris leapt off Pidgeot.

"Find her and attack," Kris ordered. "Scream as soon as you see her. I'm going to follow from the ground."

He chased the footprints and almost immediately sank up to his knees in mud. He frowned. How did the field get so bad? He glanced at his water pokemon and saw them spraying water indiscriminately. Jaquie's Polywrath squirted them right back, all while holding Jaquie's trembling Flareon. Sandslash stood on top of Rhyhorn, which had sunk almost up to its neck in mud.

Kris just stared.

Jaquie had sent out Flareon, Rhyhorn, and Sandslash. Against _water_ pokemon?

He could ignore the other weird strategies, but this was just ridiculous. The most novice trainer knew better than to use a fire pokemon against a field of water pokemon. Maybe if Flareon, Ryhorn, or Sandslash did anything interesting he'd be less suspicious, but all their moves were defensive. They looked like they were just trying to survive.

Rhyhorn let out a moan. It was an eeriely familiar sound, like a wild animal howling in the lonely night, like an alarm dying, like a mirror shattering, like...

...like the noise Nidorina's clone had made right before it disappeared.

Kris swallowed.

. . .

Jaquie leaned against a tree, waiting. Only a few more minutes now, and nothing Kris could do would make any sort of difference.

She'd seen the clones set up the proper conditions for the fight. They'd lured the psychic pokemon into a tightly-clustered super group. They'd confused the fighters and pumped them up on rage. They'd made sure the water pokemon turned the ground beneath their feet into thick mud.

The time to execute her strategy had come. Her pokemon knew her orders.

"Flareon, Magneton, Polywrath, and one Tauros," she'd addressed them back at headquaters, before they used rest. "You will cover the psychic pokemon. When you're back at full strength, dig just underneath their feet, use double team, and wait. The moment the clones collapse, Flareon will pop up first out of the hole. Use agility and then smokescreen. Polywrath, you're next. Use rage. Tauros, you're third, also rage. Magneton, fourth, flash."

Jaquie could see what would happen in her mind.

The clones would collapse suddenly, surprising the psychics. Before they could recover their wits, a few dozen Flareons would race around them, pouring smoke from their mouths. Raging Polywraths and Tauros would follow. The psychics would try to crush their opponents, but the smoke and flashes would blind them. Not being able to see, they'd simply focus their psychic energy on the mind of any rage-fueled pokemon.

"Slowbro, Jynx, and second Tauros, teleport over to the fighting pokemon," she told them. "Use confusion just long enough to get their attention. Then, one by one, teleport them into the center of the enemy psychics. Tauros, use mimic to copy their teleport."

The fenced-in fighters would be at the peak of their strength and almost completely out of control. They'd rush at the psychic pokemon, still half-blind. They'd find themselves in the middle of a smokescreen again, with psychic energy pouring down on them. They'd unleash their full fury on the enemy.

Except that it would no longer be the enemy. The poor fighters would never even know. The psychic pokemon might, but by then it would be too late. They'd be crawling with friendly fire and have to fight off their crazed companions. The fighters and the psychics would cancel each other out.

"Ryhorn, Sandslash, Pidgeot, Dodrio, and Tangela, you're going to take out the water pokemon," Jaquie ordered. "Ryhorn and Sandslash, use fissure and earthquake. The pokemon will fall. When they try to get up, Pidgeot and Dodrio, you hit them from the air. Tangela, ride with them and knock them out with sleeping powder."

She would personally supervise the water pokemon, since it was the most dangerous situation—for the water pokemon, not for her own. The combination of fissure and earthquake would cause a mudslide, which would bury them. The water pokemon would panic as mud got into their ears, their noses, their mouths. They'd scramble out, where Jaquie's flying pokemon would pick them off, one by one.

As for everyone else...

"Nidorino, Nidorina, supervise the our forces and help wherever its needed. You're both in charge of cleaning up the trash."

Jaquie heard the shrieks of the dying clones. She took a breath. That was the signal. Either the plan would work or not. She waited one minute longer and stepped back on the field.

. . .

The ground shook beneath Kris' feet. The mud turned to quicksand and sucking him down to his waist in a matter of seconds. Kris waded a couple more steps and lunged for a low-hanging branch of a tree. He clung to it, trying to pull himself up.

The tree sagged. The roots sank into the mud, and the trunk tilted forward, threatening to topple over onto him.

"Pidgeot!" Kris yelled. "Get me out here!"

Tangela swung out of the forest, vine whipping from branch to branch, and the air around the plant pokemon was shimmery with dust. Sleeping powder. Cold sweat dripped down Kris' neck. If he fell asleep now, he'd fall into the pit and be buried alive. Kris aimed his gun at Tangela. The tree branch jolted. He missed.

Pidgeot swooped in low, shrieking.

Kris jumped onto his back. "Get into the air! High up. Now!"

Pidgeot strained upward, narrowly avoiding Tangela's sparkling, deadly dust. Kris had no time to breathe a sigh of relief, because another Pidgeot dove at them from the sky. Kris shot his electric revolver. The second Pidgeot veered off to the side, avoiding the bolt and swooping instead onto a helpless Starmie instead, pecking it back into the mud.

"They need help," Kris said. "Get to the psychics. They can—"

He saw the field.

It was black. It looked like storm clouds had fallen right out of the sky. Kris couldn't even see his psychic pokemon—or the fighting pokemon. It gave him a bad feeling.

"Clear the smoke," he told Pidgeot. "Use whirlwind."

Pidgeot dove low, wind forming at his wings.

Kris suddenly got the feeling someone was watching him.

He rolled to the side. A fireball flew by his head.

Another fireball came at him. He could hear it crackle in the air. There was no place left to dodge. Kris jumped, grabbing Pidgeot's leg. The bird shrieked and missed his whirlwind completely.

"Pidgeot dodge!" he yelled.

It oblidged and swooped to the side.

Leah stood on the top of the statue of Roanoke and aimed fireballs with her tail. Clean up the trash, Jaquie had said. What better target than Kris. She aimed at him, trying hard not to hit what used to be Aren. Kris let go of the bird and crumpled to the ground.

She jumped off the statue.

Pidgeot attacked her.

Leah knew it wasn't Aren and tried to fight as best she could. But every time he cried out, it hurt her. She hated Kris so much. Leah clawed her way onto Pidgeot's wing, saw Kris on the ground, and aimed another fireball at him.

He shot her with the electric revolver.

It was a good hit, and it threw Leah off Pidgeot. She fell to the ground with a thud and tried to shake herself off. Kris, cradling a burned arm, scrambled onto the back of Pidgeot. Leah leapt after him, but the force of Pidgeot's wings pinned her to the ground. By the time she got up, they were well out of range.

Leah slashed the ground with her claws.

Kris took a shaky breath. His left arm was blistered, but he'd had worse.

"All right," he said. "Let's try it again. Whirlwind."

From all the way up here, the wind blew gentle. The tornado hovered just above the field sucking up the smoke. When the black fog lifted, Kris saw the bodies of his fighting and psychic pokemon mingled unconscious on the field. The few that remained upright were getting pummeled by Jaquie's pokemon—led by Nidorino.

"How?" Kris whispered. "How'd it turn upside down so quickly?"

Pidgeot of course didn't answer.

Kris ground his teeth. It wasn't over yet. He still had a handful of revives. His pokemon could fight again. The problem was that most of Jaquie's pokemon were conscious, and he could only revive his pokemon one at a time. The tide had turned against him, and now Kris was outnumbered.

A lone Beedrill hobbled over the tops of the trees, his body wracked by paralysis.

"Krrrizz! Dooon't leeeave uzz."

"I wasn't planning to," he replied. "Here Pidgeot, come pick him up."

Pidgeot caught Beedrill in his claws. Kris shot a paralyze heal at him.

"Whaaat weeee dooo nooow?"

"I have some weapons tucked away."

"Whaaat weapooon strrrooong enooough to huuurrrt herrr?"

Kris gazed at the buzzing pokemon.

"I can think of one," he said quietly.

. . .

The mud-caked water pokemon lay in a heap, knocked out or asleep. Once Jaquie had double checked that they were all accounted for, she nodded to Tangela. The grass pokemon planted a leech seed on the unconscious pokemon, which quickly grew into a nest of vines, holding them down.

"Good," Jaquie said. "Now go and do the same for the psychics and fighters. If you see Kris, capture him but don't knock him out. I need to talk to him."

She knew, without looking, that the battle was going well; she could hear her pokemon talking to each other. The adrenaline buzz was starting to wear off, but Jaquie couldn't get careless now. Kris was at his most dangerous when he was cornered.

Her pokemon cried out in alarm. Jaquie hustled out of the forest.

Kris jumped down from Pidgeot while it was still in midair. He got quickly to his feet, leapt into the Hall of Commerce, and slammed the door shut.

At the same time, Pidgeot spun a whirlwind beneath his wings. Strange dark purple streaks ran through the wind. Jaquie frowned. Where had she seen that color before? She noticed Beedrill clinging to Pidgeot's leg, and it hit her like a thunderclap.

"Toxic," she yelled. "Take cover."

Jaquie dove behind the bushes.

Poison spattered everywhere. She heard it slap against the leaves and felt it hit her jacket. She shuddered, jumped to her feet, and quickly removed her jacket before the poison seeped in and touched her skin. Little purple beads dotted the vegetation around her. Jaquie lifted her bazooka and froze them. Her feet crunched on grass as she strode toward the clearing.

It looked like a massacre. Twinges of purple crept through the skin of almost every pokemon within the ruins, including Kris' Pidgeot. They moaned and fell over. Only the poison pokemon remained healthy: Nidorino, Nidorina, and Beedrill. Though, with Jaquie's two best fighters bristling at him, it was safe to say that Beedrill wouldn't stay healthy for long.

Jaquie clutched her ice bazooka to her chest. In one desperate, irresponsible, and absolutely brilliant move Kris had wiped out most of her army. Self-criticism shouted in her brain, as always, but it could wait. Right now the depth of Kris' betrayal hit Jaquie full in the gut. White-hot anger flashed across her body, followed by cold resolution.

"Nidorina," she called.

The female poison pin pokemon looked up.

"Nidorino can handle Beedrill by himself. Use mimic, please, and teleport me to the Hall of Commerce."

. . .

Kris loaded revives into his liquid revolver. As soon as the poison took effect, he had to run into battlefield, rouse his poison pokemon, and hope they were strong enough to beat Nidorino and Nidorina. A slim chance, but the only one he had.

Kris pressed his ear against the door. Moaning. Good. It was time. He pushed open the door.

Jaquie stood in front of him, bazooka pointed at his chest.

Crack.

It hit like a punch. Worse than a punch. The cold cut him to the bone. Kris stumbled backwards. Jaquie swung the steel weapon and hit him under his chin. Stars danced over his eyes, and Kris dropped to the floor. Jaquie stomped his hand and kicked away his revolver.

"Nidorina, please drag him out."

The pokemon bite his leg and pulled him out into the open field. Kris kicked with his leg and tried to stand up.

Crack.

The ice hit again. Kris screamed.

Crack. Crack.

Ice welded to his chest, gluing him to the ground. He couldn't move. It stabbed his lungs to even breathe. Kris set his teeth. Pain didn't matter. He would not let Jaquie see him beg.

She knelt down, until she was very close to his face. Jaquie rested the barrel of her ice bazooka gently on his forehead.

"Where's my sister, Kris?" she said softly.

. . .

"I told you." Jesse dusted off her hands. "Every single time."

"She might have faltered," Jared said. "That one time it looked like Jaquie might lose, even you were worried."

"I was not," Jesse retorted. "I knew it was all just a part of her plan."

"Well, it's all over, anyway." Jared rose to his feet. "Maybe now we can teleport down to Jaquie and let her know you're safe."

_I'm trying_, Zeroun said.

"Trying?"

The large psychic pokemon closed his eyes. Wind rustled through the grass, and crickets chirped on the hill. Meowth scratched his leg. Jesse crossed her arms.

"Well?" she said.

Zeroun's eyes popped open. _Something's wrong. I can't teleport us to Jaquie. My powers are being blocked_.

. . .

"I said where's my sister!"

"Go to hell!" Kris yelled.

Jaquie slapped him across the face. It was such a little girly gesture, Kris wanted to catch her arm and punch her back. He couldn't. His arms were frozen. He couldn't even block. It was humiliating to be so helpless.

Jaquie smacked him again, and Kris' eyes watered.

"Where is she? Where's James?"

"I don't know," he growled.

"You don't know!" Jaquie's voice rose wildly. "If you don't have her, then what the hell was the point of this battle?"

"My revenge."

"My little sister is out there. She could be lost or hurt, and you waste my time with these petty little games!"

She swiped ground, sending a spray of dirt in his eyes. Kris had never seen Jaquie so furious. It gave him some grim satisfaction that he'd succeeded in rattling her. It was a small victory.

Jaquie suddenly became still

"Where's Karen?" she asked.

Kris shut his mouth.

Jaquie stood up. "We're leaving now!" she told her pokemon.

And Karen simply said, "No."

Her slim figure emerged from the shadows of the forest. As Karen walked onto the field, wrathful pokemon followed at her heels. Water, grass, fire, rock, and poison pokemon gathered from all sides of the ruins. The ground rumbled. Birds filled the air, and psychics stood by Karen, waves of power emitting from their red eyes.

"There are one hundred and forty pokemon in the ruins," Karen continued factually, not quite looking Jaquie in the eye. "Twenty are buried in the ground, if you try to dig your way out. Twenty are hovering in the sky, lest you try to fly away. Twenty are blocking all possible psychic activity, so don't try to teleport. The rest are poised to attack on my order.

"I'm sorry, Jaquie," she added softy. "But get away from my partner."


	34. Chapter 32: Breaking Point

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 32

**Breaking Point**

. . .

. . .

Leah knew Jaquie would have a plan. She always had a plan. She looked at her leader, and Jaquie's face was motionless, her eyes hard. Calculating, no doubt. Maybe she'd already discovered their opponent's weakness and was now preparing to exploit it.

But as Leah stared at the host of enemy pokemon, a deep weariness sunk into her bones. She'd already fought one army; she didn't want to fight another. Not like this, not alone and without rest. Jaquie wouldn't expect her to take on all one hundred and forty pokemon, but how many then? Twenty? Forty? Fifty? Leah would fight until she collapsed, but the prospect seemed grim, like pulling herself out of quicksand.

Nidorino seemed to sense that she was losing heart.

_Karen's not such a good attacker anyway. It won't be that bad_. But he spoke without his usual spirit, and Leah knew he was tired, too.

Karen's pokemon strained, taut and hungry, just waiting for their human to give the command. Karen stood silent. Her eyes gazed at Jaquie and did not blink. A nervous tension ran through her body. Leah realized that this human worked with Jaquie and knew her reputation. Even with all these pokemon beside her, Karen was still afraid.

Jaquie glanced at Karen's pokemon and then at Karen. She took a step sideways, away from Kris' half-frozen body. Jaquie held out her ice bazooka and slowly lifted it high into the air.

"I surrender," Jaquie said.

She threw her weapon to the ground.

. . .

Meowth spoke first. "Jaquie lost."

"She lost," James echoed in disbelief.

"She can't lose!" Jesse cried. "She won't! She has some brilliant plan..."

Her voice trailed off as Jaquie's bazooka hit the dirt.

"I told you!" Jared said angrily. "I told you she needed help, but did anyone listen to me? No! Does anyone ever listen to me? No!"

"But Jaquie can't lose," Jesse was still muttering. "She's never lost before."

"And that means she can't lose at all! She's human. She can fail as easy as you." Jesse gave him an abstracted look. "Why am I even bothering to talk to you?" Jared exasperated. "Look," he addressed the others. "We need to do something. We need to help her."

_How?_ Zeroun asked pointedly.

Jared balked. "I don't know! If we all band together, we have, what, twenty pokemon? Maybe only fifteen? Doesn't matter. We have the element of surprise. We can sneak up on them and—"

"You expect us to win where Jaquie can't." Meowth crossed his paws.

"You forget, we're the losers of Team Rocket," James pointed out. "The pathetic bumblers who can't do anything right."

"So? That doesn't mean you can't win. If Jaquie can lose, you can win. Anything is possible now. So let's get out there and fight."

They stared at him blankly.

"Fine! I don't need your help. I have Zeroun and Gadara's three pokemon to help me."

One of them made a noise.

"He says they're not doing anything to help that human who kidnapped their brothers and sisters," translated Meowth.

"What?" For a moment Jared was stunned. "Zeroun, you'll help, right?"

Zeroun hesitated.

Jared blew up. "Forget it! I'll do it myself!"

He had three pokemon and his newly made psychic weapon. It wasn't an army, but it was something. _He_, at least, wouldn't abandon their leader.

"I can't believe you're doing this," Jesse said from behind him.

Jared turned on her furiously, but she was glaring at her partners.

"I can't believe you're just going to stand here and let my sister get beat by that pair of jerks."

James and Meowth gaped. "But Jesse, we can't win."

"The point of Team Rocket isn't to win," Jesse said. "How many times did we chase the brat and his Pikachu? Did we ever catch them? Not once. But did that stop us? No! Because we're Team Rocket, and Team Rocket means you get up every time you fall down. You stand up for wrong and carry out your plan no matter how ridiculous it may be. Because that's what losers do!"

Jared, personally, felt less than inspired by the speech, but it seemed to work on James and Meowth. They looked at Jesse with stars in their eyes, shook off their apathy, and announced, "We're with you!"

"And you?" Jesse looked at the three pokemon. "You said you don't like it when your brothers and sisters get hurt? What do you think Karen and Kris will do? They're even worse than my sister. Besides, I'm going down there to help, and you have orders from Gadara to guard me."

The pokemon talked among themselves.

"They'll do it," Meowth translated.

Jesse turned to the last member. "Zeroun?"

_I thought you wanted her to lose, Jesse. I thought you hated her_.

Jesse squirmed. "I never said that."

_I read your thoughts._

Jesse became quiet.

"I don't like Jaquie much," she admitted. "I hate how she always wins and how people want her more than me. But Jaquie's still my sister. _My_ sister. And I'm not going to let her face that group of traitors alone. So either help me or get out of my way."

. . .

Jaquie lifted her pokeballs. "Slowbro, Rhyhorn, Dodrio, return. Tauros, Tauros, Pidgeot, return. Jynx..."

Karen signaled a Ninetails. "Flamethrower. Gently."

Ninetails walked over to Kris and blew fire over the ice encasing his chest. He winced slightly at the heat, but the pokemon was careful and consistent. Water ran into his clothes, and Kris found could breathe again.

"Nidorina, return," Jaquie called. The female poison pin pokemon melted quietly into her pokeball. "Nidorino."

He nimbly dodged the red beam.

"I said return."

Again, Nidorino twisted away. He panted, his body soaked with sweat and stained with mud. But his eyes were fierce and determined.

"Nidorino, please, just go in," Jaquie said softly. "I'll be all right. I promise."

She held up her pokeball again, and this time Nidorino allowed himself to be absorbed it.

Ninetails killed the fire. Kris shook off the remaining bits of ice and sprang to his feet.

He was livid. How many times had she humiliated him like this? How many times had she stood like this, arms folded neatly across her chest, as cool as you please? How many times had he groveled below her, looking for the whole world like some clumsy dumbass? Well, not this time.

"This time you lose, Jaquie," he yelled. "Do you hear me? YOU LOSE!"

"What is this about, Kris?" she said patiently.

"Don't you know?" He taunted her, leering in her face. "How does it feel to be the helpless one for once? How does it feel to fail?"

The crowd was with him now, booing and yelling and booming their discontent.

"Everything always has to be under your control, doesn't it? You push everyone around, punishing them if they do anything you don't like. You always have to be so damned perfect. How does it feel to know you're not, you stupid, feeble loser!"

_React, _Kris thought._ Yell at me, scream, lose control of yourself for once in your life_! He wanted to throw her off her high horse of dignity, but she barely blinked at her. _React! Argue with me, insult me, cry, do something_!

Jaquie's insides prickled at the hatred in his voice. His insults gathered in a sticky placed within her. Some sort of emotion was rising hot and acerbic in her chest, but she didn't know what it was. All she knew was that she had to contain it, clamp down on the chaos that flew everywhere inside her. She clenched her hands and said nothing.

Her resistance had a curious effect on the crowd. The pokemon caught Kris' ire and became animated. They shouted and pawed the ground. Physical pokemon beat their chest, while specialist narrowed their eyes in aim. They closed in around Jaquie, tightening like a noose.

"That's enough!" Karen yelled. "If you continue making all this noise, you'll bring down the whole city-state on us."

The crowd muttered.

"Let's get out of here," she said. "We'll take Jaquie to the Northern Shore and decide what to do with her there."

On the one hand Kris agreed. He couldn't wait to stuff Jaquie into some little box and see how she liked it. On the other hand, he was still miffed that Jaquie was so immune to his every attempt to humiliate her. He wanted her to suffer a little.

"Wait," he said. "Before we get moving, we should disarm her."

"She already threw down her bazooka."

"I meant her pokemon."

Alarm crept over Jaquie's face, and she instinctively put her hand over her pokeballs. "No."

Now Kris was getting a reaction. And he enjoyed it.

"You surrendered," he told her. "Now hand over your pokeballs."

"You're not touching them."

Kris grinned. "Then you've left us no choice."

Fearows cried from the air, screeching an alarm.

"We don't have time for this," Karen said. "We're being attacked. Psychic pokemon, you handle Jaquie. Everyone else, get ready to leave."

What Karen had meant was for the psychics to use telekinesis to take Jaquie's pokeballs from her belt. The pokemon interpreted the order differently. Their eyes zeroed in on Jaquie, and their minds stretched in unison.

Jaquie jolted. Knife points drilled into her brain. The pressure blacked out her senses, leaving nothing but twisting, burning pain. She screamed...

. . .

Flying pokemon swooped down from the air.

James whipped out his Wheezing. "Smokescreen!"

"Arbok, attack!" Jesse cried.

Jared's Parasect sprayed spore at the enemies, putting them to sleep. But now, the ground pokemon burst from the earth, surrounding them. Meowth clawed with all ferocity, but did little damage.

"We can't win this way," Jared said. "We're outnumbered."

_I am contacting other armies around the vicinity._

Despite his communications, Zeroun was easily doing the most damage, lifting two pokemon at the same time and tossing them away like ragdolls.

"Tell them to hurry," Jesse snapped. "My sister's in trouble, and we have a hundred more pokemon to get through."

_They're coming. I am going to tell Gadara_— He froze. _The psychic pokemon are attacking Jaquie_.

"What all twenty of them?"

_Yes. We need to get to her out of there! They could tear her mind apart!_

"What!?"

"Wait," Jared said. "If they're using their psychic attack on Jaquie, they can't block your teleportation, right?"

_Yes, but_—

"Teleport me to Jaquie then." Jared gripped his gun. "I'll meet the rest of you at Mountaintop City."

_Jared, if they attack you_—

"Would you just teleport me! I know what I'm doing!"

. . .

Kris had wanted Jaquie to suffer. He'd pictured her getting scuffed, bruised, perhaps bloodied a little. But not this. Jaquie fell to her knees and screamed guttural, soul-wrenching shrieks. She clawed her head like a madwoman and writhed on the ground. Kris suddenly felt very sick.

"Stop this!" Karen yelled.

No one heard her. As the psychics attacked, the other pokemon cheered so loud they drowned out Karen's voice. Their hatred for this freedom-stealing tyrant ruptured into a horrible roar for justice. This dictator would suffer. She would pay for her crimes, for every wrong inflicted... and then she would lose her mind.

A male human suddenly appeared on the field, pale with fright but determined. He knelt down beside Jaquie and positioned his extremely odd-looking gun on his shoulder, but he didn't pull the trigger, not yet.

The psychic pokemon redoubled their attacks to compensate for Jaquie's friend. Despite this, Jared remained unfazed and Jaquie stopped screaming, though her hands still clutched her head. The pokemon shouted for blood and vengeance. A few began to run, claws out, fists swinging.

Jared pulled the trigger.

All the built-up psychic energy blasted out and boomeranged back onto the pokemon. It hit them like broken glass shoved into their brains. Karen and Kris reeled back.

Jared pulled out his pokeball and called out Venomoth. He put his arm around Jaquie and whispered softly to her. She didn't reply, but her hands slid slowly from her hair to the ground. Jared gave Venomoth the order, glared at Kris and Karen, and teleported away with Jaquie in tow.

The psychic attack receded. Kris was the first to open his eyes.

"Damn it!" he yelled. "Jaquie's gone."

A flutter came from the flying pokemon. From somewhere on the side, reinforcements had answered Zeroun's cry. The left flank of Karen's troops were getting battered.

"We need to go, before Gadara's armies destroy us," Karen said.

Before Kris could protest, she gave the order to retreat.

. . .

It was the first time Gadara had ever seen Jaquie. She'd rushed to her study after getting Zeroun's message and now stood under the doorway, staring down upon the great dictator of Team Rocket. It wasn't what she'd expected.

Jaquie lay crumpled on the floor, curled up like an infant, shivering. Jared had his hand over her back and was hesitantly smoothing down her hair, murmuring softly to her. Jaquie shook her head and wouldn't look up. Her breaths came out quick and shaky.

"What is she thinking?" Gadara whispered to Zeroun.

_She wants to know where her sister is_.

"Tell her—"

_Jared just did_.

Jaquie's eyes rose just enough to look Jesse. Jesse met her gaze, her face pained. Jaquie said nothing, but her breathing smoothed. Gradually, she shook off Jared'd hand and stood up.

Gadara' sympathy leaked away. Jaquie's back was straight, her shoulders straight, her face rigid. She wasn't crying. Her eyes were cold and hard, like pebbles held under a stream. Jaquie's posture instantly reminded Gadara that this was the ruthless, icy leader of Team Rocket, the very person who'd enslaved her people. Gadara's heart hardened.

"Who are you?" Jaquie asked. Her voice reminded Gadara of a great, hollow oak tree whose heart had been eaten out by a parasite.

"My name is Gadara. I am mayor of Mountaintop City and the ruler of the Southern Tropics."

"Are you on Kris' side?" she asked briskly.

"No," Gadara replied, just as abrupt.

Jared interrupted. "Jaquie just got hit by about twenty simultaneous psychic attacks. Can we get her to a hospital or something?"

"I'm fine," Jaquie said.

"You can endure twenty psychic attacks without coming to harm?" Gadara said skeptically.

Jaquie regarded this remark with stony silence. "I have a headache," she said at last.

"Chloe will treat it," Gadara told her. "Zeroun, can you ask her to prepare a room?"

Zeroun relayed the order, and Chauncy bounced in a moment later. Jaquie allowed herself to be led away, with Jesse, James, and Meowth gathered around her in a tight bundle.

"Wait until you see all of Mountaintop City," Meowth said. "It's so beautiful."

Gadara watched them leave. The feeling of unease only grew in Jaquie's absence. What was she hiding?

_Jaquie isn't hiding anything_, Zeroun said.

But Gadara wasn't so sure. Maybe Jaquie hadn't lied—yet—but there was still a secret lurking in her eyes, and Gadara wanted very badly to know what it was.

. . .

Even after they'd gotten back to the safety of the Northern Shore, Karen's army didn't break up and go home. They skulked and muttered, throwing stormy glances at their leader. Kris couldn't understand their words, but he guessed they were mad at Karen for withdrawing them before they got a chance to fight. That kind of angry stewing could get dangerous very quickly, but Karen seemed to be ignoring them. Her arms were crossed and she was silent.

"Alright everyone listen up," Kris said. "Yes, Jaquie got away."

The pokemon booed.

"That sniveling coward _ran _away," Kris clarified, and the booing stopped.

"In fact," he went on, "she couldn't even run away by herself. Her loyal henchman had to interfere, using deceit and trickery to make their getaway. But listen, there is one thing I want you to see. She's afraid. She's afraid of _you. _That's why she ran like a chicken instead of fighting. And you know what, she should be afraid. Because today, I saw a mighty army rise up, pokemon who would crush the reign of a tyrant and bring freedom to the world!"

The pokemon cheered.

"Now, I want you to get a good rest tonight, because tomorrow we're going to start training. Jaquie's not getting away, I promise you that. She can run all over the island, she can hide in Gadara's lair, but in the end, we will find her. We will hunt down that piece of filth, and together we will destroy her!"

The pokemon roared, their hatred deflected from Karen back to Jaquie again.

Not that Karen appreciated or even realized what Kris was doing. She pulled him away from the crowd.

"What presidential speech did your steal that load of propaganda from?" she said in a scornful whisper.

"Knock it off, Karen," he said belligerently.

"And I loved that part about destroying Jaquie," she added sarcastically. "Especially since they very nearly succeeded!"

"What did you want me to tell them? Sorry Jaquie got away, now we're going to give up? Do you even understand how dangerous a mob can be?"

"This isn't helping us in the long run. Sooner or later, we have to make peace with Jaquie, if we want to keep our jobs."

"It can be later then," Kris said. "Besides, that's your department. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to have a talk with the leaders of the four city-states. If Gadara doesn't give Jaquie up, then we may have a war on our hands."

He left, and Karen stood alone. Her stomach sank. Now Kris wanted a war? This was supposed to be one quick battle and done. Instead, they were committed for the long haul. The more this fight wore on, the harder it would be to reconcile. Karen had to put an end to all this nonsense and soon.

She turned to a group of Abras, still lingering at her side.

"Find me a pen and paper," she said. "I have something I need to write."

. . .

Ironically, the only stationary on the island belonged to Jaquie. Karen felt funny using it, but she needed something to write out the letters. She smoothed the blank pages, gripped Jaquie's blue-inked ballpoint pen, and scrawled in her nicest handwriting:

_To Gadara, Mayor of Mountaintop City, and Leader of the Southern Tropics:_

_Our city-states have maintained peace for hundreds of years, and we would like to continue our friendly relations. Our quarrel was never with you, but rather with the human, Jaquie. Therefore, we propose a meeting in The Northern Shore on Monday, March 22__nd__ at 3 o'clock in the afternoon to discuss the matter of ending this conflict. I'm sure we'll be able to reconcile and return to normal. Also, if you have Jaquie, please bring her with you. We have matters to discuss with her as well. We do not wish to prolong this feud between us. Please, write back._

_With Warm Regards,_

_Kolb, Shalimar, Enki, and Vannack_

Karen picked up a new sheet of paper. Now for Jaquie's letter. She hesitated. What could Karen possibly say to excuse their rebellion, to convince Jaquie to forgive them? Karen tapped her pen. Writing just wasn't expressive enough. She'd have to apologize in person. In the end, the note she wrote was relatively short:

_To Jaquie:_

_Please come to the Northern Shore. This is not a trap. I promise I won't let Kris hurt you. I want to talk to you about you being our leader again. There will be some conditions, but my hope is that we can put all this behind us and return to our original mission. _

_Sincerely, Karen_

She'd just finished signing, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Karen startled, but it was only Kris.

"Hi," he said.

She glared. "What do you want?"

"I realized I never said thanks for, well, you know, coming to my rescue and all."

"Oh that. You're welcome." She turned back to the papers and began folding them.

"Look, I know you've never been happy about this. I know this was more my project than yours. But if you trust me, it'll be all right. You'll see." He glanced at the papers. "What are these?"

"Letters," she said. "I'm sending them to Gadara and Jaquie."

Kris picked them up and skimmed them. He frowned.

"Do you really mean all that?" he said. "You want to meet Gadara and end the war and ask Jaquie to become our leader again."

"Of course," Karen said. "I don't know if you realize this, but Gadara's got a well-trained army and Jaquie's got the brains to command them and right now both are probably pissed off at us. We should quit while we're ahead."

Kris shook his head. "It won't work."

"Well, it won't hurt to try."

"Don't send them." Kris leaned casually across the desk. "I mean peace and harmony... that just isn't Team Rocket—"

"Don't you lecture me about Team Rocket." Karen leapt to her feet. "I'm trying to save it before we destroy it from the inside out."

"Okay, fine, nobody's arguing with that." Kris backed away. "But can't it wait? I still want my revenge."

"And you've had it. You beat Jaquie. You won—"

"No, _you_ won. _You_ trapped Jaquie, while I sat back and watched."

"I couldn't have done it without you."

"You mean you wouldn't have," Kris muttered. "But so what if we won a battle? She escaped before we could do anything. You wait, if she comes, which I doubt, she'll be the one giving us the conditions, not the other way around. We won't punish her; she'll punish us."

"At this point, I don't care."

"Karen, please, I'm begging you. Don't send these letters. Jaquie will think we're weak. We can get much better bargaining position if we beat her, I mean _really_ beat her in another battle."

"And if we lose?" Karen crossed her arms.

"We won't," Kris said. "I'm taking your suggestion and training our pokemon. By the time we attack again, they'll be much more organized. Plus, we still outnumber her, four city-states to one. I promise, I'll win, just please, please, please don't send those letters, Karen."

He looked at her with pleading eyes.

Karen sighed. "I hate you Kris."

Kris grinned. "I know. Hey, I'm going to get some training in. Why don't you get some rest? You look tired."

He dashed out the door.

"I hate you," Karen continued, "because you're going to make this much, much harder for me to do."

She gathered up her two letters.

A couple of young Spearow, too young for the army, pecked outside Kolb's study. Karen approached them.

"Can you do me a favor?"

They squawked, looking at her with eager adoration.

"Take this letter to Gadara for me," she told one. "Politely," she added, seeing his face wrinkle with disgust. "And you, please give this to Jaquie." She handed the second letter to its friend. "Again, be polite. Can I trust you both to give them these messages without trying to attack or insult them?"

They nodded.

"Good," she said. "Oh, and one more thing. Don't tell Kris."

. . .

"What is this trash?" Gadara screeched.

Zeroun, having gotten a statement from Leah, had only just teleported into the hallway of the hospital, and he was already sorry he had. Even without skimming Gadara's thoughts, he could feel the anger boiling out of her. He wasn't entirely surprised. Gadara tried to keep calm in front of her people, but when the pressure built, she tended to blow up. And it had been a very stressful night.

For him, too. His mind was stretched from the battle. Zeroun was exhausted and did not wish bear her rage on top of that.

Fortunately, she didn't see him. She was too busy shooing an angry Spearow out the open window, her hand clenched on a piece of paper. Once it left, Gadara's eyes fell on James, who was sitting on the bench just outside Jaquie's hospital room. The full force of her anger fell on him.

"You! Explain what this is!" She threw a folded paper in his lap.

Trembling, James opened it. "It-it looks like a letter."

"A letter!" Gadara vented. "A _letter_?"

"A letter is a—"

"I know what it is," Gadara snapped. "Why would they insult me like this? A letter! A human thing!"

James skimmed the content of the letter. "Um, I don't see how it insulted you. They sounded polite."

"It's not what they said. It's the principle of the thing. None of the leaders ever called a meeting using a letter before. They psychically communicate with Zeroun. This letter thing—it's an insult. It's as though they're saying, we don't trust you enough to let you into our thoughts. So, instead, we will give you this archaic..._letter_!" She spat the word.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Her red eyes shifted. "Do you recognize the handwriting?"

"I-uh—"

"Because," Gadara continued, "the handwriting does not belong to Kolb, Shalimar, Enki, or Vannack. It could be one of their advisor's—another insult—or it could be... someone else." She glared at James.

"It's not mine," he told her.

"Karen or Kris!" she shouted. "Is this Karen's or Kris' handwriting?"

"I don't know," he replied irately. "I've never seen them write." He looked at the letter again. "But if I had to chose, I'd say Karen's. It's too pretty to belong to Kris."

"How can they possibly be so close to the mayors?" Gadara moaned. "How could those two horrible humans exercise this much influence over them! Especially Kolb. Kolb never listens to anyone! How could this happen?"

Zeroun had an idea. Leah had just told him about a method Kris had used to take over her friend's mind. Amnesia serum, she called it. If either of the humans had used it on the leaders, that might explain their peculiar behavior. But Zeroun hesitated to tell her straight out. With Gadara this agitated, it was best to break the news after she'd calmed down.

"You're very loud out here." Jared stuck his head out of a room. "What's all this yelling about."

"You! You're the smart one. Tell me how could four intelligent leaders completely lose their senses over Karen and Kris."

"Well, if either of them used amnesia serum—"

"If they used what?"

"Amnesia serum. It takes away the free will of the pokemon and forces them to obey the first human they hear."

Zeroun sighed. _Three, two, one..._

"How dare they!" Gadara exploded. "How dare they even think—It's bad enough they attack us—But to do this to the great mayors—These brutes! These horrible beasts!"

"Kind of makes Jaquie seem mild," Jared commented smugly.

Just then, another Spearow flew in through the window, a crisp paper tucked in its claw. Gadara ripped the paper from the bird. It hissed and pecked. She swatted it absently and opened the letter.

Her eyes narrowed. "Makes Jaquie seem mild..." she muttered to herself.

"What's it say?" Jared queried.

Gadara tossed it to him. His eyes drank in the words.

"You know, we probably shouldn't be reading this," he said, after a pause. "Jaquie's kind of prickly about her privacy, and I know from experience she doesn't like people reading her letters."

"Sounds like Karen's getting desperate," James said, reading over his shoulder.

But Gadara's thoughts were different.

_Why does Karen want to talk with Jaquie? Are they in league together? Their original mission was to enslave the pokemon on this island. What better way than by sparking a civil war to weaken us?_

Zeroun began his old, tired argument in her mind. _You have no proof_—

"Then, I'll get proof," Gadara said, cutting him off mid-thought. "James, you're still my diplomat. Do you think Jaquie and Karen may still be working together?"

"What?" James said.

"Didn't you see what they did to her?" Jared said. "They nearly ripped her mind apart."

"Perhaps. Or, it might have been an act. By playing the injured bird, Jaquie's gotten into my city. Perhaps she means to manipulate me, gaining the trust of my citizens, even as she plots against them."

"That's ridiculous," Jared blurted.

"Why?" Gadara said.

"Because," James began. "Jaquie isn't that—"

"Smart? Sophisticated? Cunning?"

"Good with people," Jared finished. "She could barely get Nidorina to trust her, and that was after weeks of training."

"And yet Leah did follow her into battle."

_She had no choice_, Zeroun pointed out. _Kris attacked them_.

"Exactly."

"You really think she set that up?"

"We'll see, won't we?" Gadara took a step towards Jaquie's room. "I have some questions for Jaquie to answer, and if she lies, I'll know better than to trust her."

"Now?" Jared said. "But she's still recovering."

"Now."

Gadara threw open the door and blew in.

. . .

The hospital room was a small clean place that resembled the inside of a pearl, everything rounded and dazzling white. A perfectly made bed stood in the middle of the room. Jaquie refused to lay down in it. Instead, she sat on a chair that looked like half a hardboiled egg with the yolk scooped out. Jesse sat on the other chair, Meowth perched on her lap.

"Uh, how are you feeling now?" Jesse asked, for about the fifth time.

"I'm fine," Jaquie replied. The psychic attack had boiled down to a large headache, and the pokemon gave her medicine for that. She didn't know they wouldn't let out of the room, though she suspected it had more to do with her reputation rather than her ailment.

"So, that's good," Jesse said.

Now it was Jaquie turn to speak. "Have you ever been to the city hospital before?"

"Yeah. We came here once when Gadara gave us a tour..." Jesse trailed off, abashed.

"That's nice," Jaquie said dully.

Silence widened between them. It wasn't so much that Jaquie was angry or Jesse embarrassed. There was simply nothing to talk about. And now they both sat in their white chairs in this white room as the white silence spread around them.

Until Gadara charged into the room.

"Jaquie, I need to speak to you," she said in loud booming voice.

Zeroun glided in besides her, leaving just enough room for Jared and James to squeeze into the doorway.

"What is it?" Jaquie asked calmly.

"I have just received two letters from Karen, one of them addressed to you, Jaquie. The contents of the letter suggest—"

"They don't," Jared interrupted.

Gadara glared at him. "They suggest an alliance between you and Karen."

"You read my mail?"

Gadara brushed aside her accusation. "Are you and Karen working together?"

"May I have my letter?"

Gadara's eyes grew hard with suspicion, but she handed Jaquie the paper.

"Are you in league together?" she said again.

"No," Jaquie said.

_Is she telling the truth_? Gadara wondered.

_Yes_, Zeroun answered.

Jaquie skimmed the letter. So Karen wanted to reconcile. Tempting. But Karen wasn't the one seeking revenge. It was Kris who'd taunted at her, Kris who'd fought her, Kris who'd wanted her to suffer. She knew that drive all too well—it was the same way she felt about Giovanni—the need for vengeance was relentless.

_How can she be so dispassionate?_ Gadara wondered. _And who's Giovanni_?

_I've no idea_, Zeroun replied.

Jaquie folded her letter. "Believe me, if this were part of my plan, I would not have my subordinates send me letters on my own stationary. I'm a bit more subtle than that."

"You do have a reputation," Gadara admitted. "That's why I was so surprised to learn you'd suffered your first loss at the hands of your underlings."

Her first loss. The words drummed in Jaquie's mind. She felt strangely empty, as though she'd lost everything. Hadn't she? She'd sold her soul—and her family—for perfection. Now that perfection had been shattered. What did she have now but broken pieces?

_What's that mean? She sold her soul? Her family?_

_I can only telling you what she's thinking. _

"I made a mistake," Jaquie said. "Kris is my mistake, and I will contain him, given the opportunity. But it seems Karen and Kris have more pokemon than they usually do. How has that happened?"

"There are four other city-states on this island," Gadara said. "Karen and Kris must have... manipulated... the leaders to do their bidding."

"Then we have a common enemy," Jaquie said.

"We?" Gadara said.

"I can't defeat Kris with a dozen pokemon." Jaquie stared pointedly at her with cool, blue eyes.

_She actually expects me to give her control of my armies? She can't be serious._

_Quite serious actually_, Zeroun replied. _And she doesn't think she'll have any trouble persuading you._

Gadara bristled. "It seems to me that it would be much easier to give you to Kris. Then he'd have no reason to threaten us."

"He would, actually." Jaquie didn't blink. "You see, the orders to capture pokemon did not come from me. If Kris usurps me, he takes over my job. Since he has to keep up appearances in the other four city-states, he'll take pokemon from your land."

"And you wouldn't?"

"No."

_She's not lying_, Zeroun added.

_What? She must be_.

"I'd rather have volunteers than slaves," Jaquie said. "I do need pokemon, but just for a little while. And I prefer ones who take initiative, like Nidorina."

"You mean Leah." Gadara shook her head. "And my citizens fight just fine on their own, thank you."

"But they all fight the same way. Kris knows it. He'll counter your strategies and defeat you. But he can't predict what I'll do. Not only that, I know Kris and Karen's weaknesses. I've beaten them before, and I can beat them now. Can you?"

Gadara just stared.

_Her argument is logical_, Zeroun put in.

Gadara didn't care. The thought of a human controlling her armies sent a chill down her spine. And Jaquie was no ordinary human. She was cold, malicious, and cruel.

"You're suggesting we cooperate," Gadara said to Jaquie. "Normally, cooperation is highly valued in our land. Before it can occur, however, both parties must have some semblance of trust—"

"And you don't trust me,"Jaquie finished bluntly.

"Honestly, no."

Jaquie nodded. "What do I need to do to earn your trust then?"

It was an odd question. Gadara had never thought of the requirements of trust. Normally, it took time and careful observation of action. But since she didn't have years to study Jaquie, Gadara hit upon a shortcut.

"You would have to consent would to a mind search," she said.

Jaquie blinked. "What's that?"

"A mind search is the process in which Zeroun will psychically look through your memories—"

"No," Jaquie said instantly.

"It won't be—"

"I said no. Pick something else."

But there was nothing else. Gadara looked into Jaquie's icy blue eyes and saw no trace of emotion or regret. Here stood the leader of Team Rocket: brilliant, ruthless, unpredictable—and hiding something. What was she hiding? Gadara had to know.

_No. _Zeroun's voice was forceful inside her head. _I will not do a mind search without her permission. It's a violation of privacy_.

_And what if she's a danger to my citizens_? _Are you going to risk their safety for her privacy_?

_She is not allied with Karen and Kris. She isn't planning to hurt you. What more do you want?_

_I want to be able to trust her. _Gadara stared at him. _But how can I when she has not shown the slightest trace of sympathy? Jaquie is walled up and hollow. Maybe she hasn't lied, but can you guarantee she's telling the truth? Can you guarantee she won't turn around and attack us after we help her? _

Zeroun looked away. _It's illegal._

_We're at war Zeroun, and she might very well be the enemy. I can't take that chance. Right the other four city-states are controlled by two savage humans. Maybe if the other leaders had been more careful they wouldn't be in this mess._

Zeroun fell silent.

_Use the mind search_, Gadara ordered.

"I have a suggestion," Jared said. "If you need someone to vouch for Jaquie, why not just ask her pokemon? They've had time to get to know her, and they can tell you..."

_What do you want to know? _Zeroun asked.

_Why she is in Team Rocket? What did she mean when she said she sold her family and her soul? And who is Giovanni and what does she have against him?_

An unspoken sigh, transmitted telepathically.

"...also ask me," Jared rambled on. "Even though I haven't known her very long, I can tell you that Jaquie is—"

Jaquie jerked up straight. Her eyes fell on Zeroun.

"What are you doing?"

_She knows_, Zeroun spoke silently.

_Continue_.

Giovanni—the true boss of Team Rocket—slicked back hair and a red suit. Boiling hatred filled Jaquie every time she looked at his sneering face. He didn't know. He thought she was his pet protégée. Various plots spun through her head. Plots to unseat him, plots to take over Team Rocket.

Jaquie sprang out of her chair. "I said no!"

"What's going on?" Jared asked.

None of them carried out. A single secret weapon could destroy her. Everything had to be perfectly under control. And so Jaquie moved like a snake through the different departments of Team Rocket, cultivating dependence, gaining loyalty, undermining her boss. People she didn't want got fired. Like those pesky students of the Team Rocket school.

"I'm leaving." Spinning on her heel, Jaquie darted for the door.

Gadara slapped her in a disable, pushing her back against the chair. A clear dome encased the leader of Team Rocket. Jaquie couldn't get out.

"Stop this!" She pounded on the disable. "Let me go!"

"What are you doing to her?" Jesse said in a frightened voice.

Jesse—sitting in the front desk of the Team Rocket school, hand raised, eyes bright. Jesse—neglecting her pokemon training to choreograph the Team Rocket motto with James. Jesse—bumbling in her attempt to steal a Pikachu. And Jaquie watching from the shadows, chest swelling with... happiness? ...relief? ...pride? Yes, all three.

"Quit it!" Jaquie yelled. "Now!"

Pride because she taught her sister to be the most incompetent criminal in all Team Rocket. Just like she'd promised Giovanni. "You'll find no faults with my methods, but when she wrecks everything you've ever built, don't say I didn't warn you." Jaquie trained Jesse for failure right under Giovanni's nose, and he didn't even see it.

Jaquie moaned and covered her face.

"Whatever you're doing, stop it!" Jared said. "You're hurting her."

Pain—That first day her sister walked into the classroom, Jaquie's heart stopped. It wasn't the life she'd wanted for her. Jesse was supposed to be honest and follow her dreams and not have to scrabble just to survive—and all the things Jaquie missed out on.

Pain—"Are you a thief?" her mother asked, and Jaquie couldn't even answer. She just ran out of the house and didn't look back. The guilt was unbearable. Mother always told her never to steal, and look what she'd become, a thief, a horrible lying thief.

Pain—Every time she had to rob a trainer of his pokemon, Jaquie wanted to curl up and yell. She didn't want to steal. She shouldn't have to steal. She was bringing in enough money with her honest skills. But that wasn't enough for Giovanni. He wanted to corrupt her. He wanted to control her. He threatened her family if she didn't bend to her will.

"Please, please don't go any further," Jaquie begged.

Her family—the most important thing in Jaquie's life. The reason she joined Team Rocket. The reason she'd sold her soul to Giovanni.

Memories of her mother, propped on a pillow on her bed, telling them stories of all the great trainers. Memories of her mother building castles out of snow. Memories of her mother crying because she couldn't afford to put dinner on the table.

And memories of Jesse. Her cute baby sister following at her heels, with a ragged pokemon doll in her hand. "One day, I'll be a great trainer, just like you." Memories of taking Jesse out for ice cream sundaes. Memories of tucking her in bed and kissing her good night.

All of it, gone.

Giovanni had stolen it from her. He'd ripped out her heart and stomped her spirit into dust. He had to suffer. Everything Giovanni loved, everything he worked for she would destroy. Jaquie wanted revenge.

She needed revenge.

"Stop!" Jaquie cried.

"Stop!" Jesse yelled.

"Stop," Gadara said.

Zeroun stopped.

Jaquie trembled. Her pale hands were clenched into fists, her face was ashen. Her eyes—but Gadara couldn't meet her eyes. She looked down at the floor. Shame heated Gadara's cheeks and filled her chest, thick as a paste. She let go of the disable.

"I'm so sorry," Gadara whispered.

Jaquie pushed past her and ran out the door.


	35. Chapter 33: To Denounce the Evils of

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 33

**To Denounce the Evils of Truth and Love**

. . .

. . .

_To Karen, Pretentious Leader of The Northern Shore and Three Other City-States, and her Co-Usurper, Kris:_

_I'm sorry, but I must decline your meeting. As far as I am concerned, you declared war on us the moment you stepped onto my island, and I have no intention of negotiating with either of you humans. I will talk to the real leaders_—_Kolb, Shalimar, Enki, and Vannack_—_once they cease to be puppets under your control. Until that time, there will be no peace. _

_Sincerely,_

_Gadara_

_P.S. When true leaders want to hold a meeting, we contact each other psychically. We do not send written invitations._

. . .

It was foggy when Fearow arrived with Gadara's note tucked into his claw. As he crossed from the humid jungle into the Northern Shore, he was intercepted by border guards. Under orders from Karen, they did not attack, but instead escorted Fearow to Kolb's capital city, a place named Point of Rocks.

Great boulders heaped the beach and jutted from the ocean. Little houses sat on these rocks, the homes of water pokemon, while skyscrapers built upon a long slab of stone provided shelter for other types. Under the grey sky, waves crashed like symbols.

Here the guards told Fearow to wait while they fetched Karen. Minutes passed. An Oddish waddled up to Fearow and explained that Karen was still asleep but she—the Oddish—would take the message instead.

At this the Fearow, a stubborn literalist, protested. The letter was addressed to Karen and Kris, and that's who he'd deliver it to. Oddish told him it was Karen's orders for her—the Oddish—to take any message that might come. Fearow shook his head.

"Karen ro Kris," he insisted, pronouncing their names carefully.

"What about me?"

Kris jogged the beach, sweating from his morning workout. A pack of fighting pokemon followed at his heals. Kris looked from Fearow to the guards to Oddish. His eyes narrowed.

"What is all this?" he said. "What's going on?"

. . .

Karen stretched. No nightmares. She'd slept the whole eight hours without waking once. It felt so good to get a full night's rest.

She arranged the cushions back into a neat stack. Kolb's study had made an excellent bedroom. By the time Karen dressed, pulled her hair in a ponytail, and put on her contacts, sunshine was seeping through the curtains. She pulled the curtains open. Blue skies cracked the clouds. Karen smiled. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day.

Time to get moving. She stepped out the door.

Oddish ran into her. Tears streamed down the tiny plant pokemon's cheeks.

"Dish. Odd, Oddish."

"I'm sorry, I can't understand you," Karen said. "Say it again."

"Dish." The pokemon furiously gestured down the hall.

Kris stood against the front door, his jaw tight, a crumpled letter tucked into his arm.

"Good morning, Karen," he said with acid in his voice. "Did you sleep well?"

. . .

"You." Kris turned on Oddish. "Scram."

Oddish whimpered.

Karen sighed. "Just go."

Oddish's footsteps pitter-patted down the hall. She disappeared out the door. And then, the yelling began.

"What the hell is this?" Kris waved the paper in front of Karen's face. "You sent Gadara the letter, didn't you? After I explicitly told you not to!" He slammed the letter against the wall. "Did you send one to Jaquie, too?"

"First of all," Karen said. "Since when do _you_ tell_ me_—"

"Did you send Jaquie a letter or not?"

"I did. So what?"

"Karen, you're going to ruin everything!" Kris griped. "I told you—!"

"No," she snapped. "You_ asked _me. And this time, I decided not to go along with your request."

"Oh, so now you want to go your own way? I'm finally at a point where I can have a little fun—"

"Fun!" Karen said.

"—and you bail on me! Worse, you go behind my back. You undermine my authority. You keep secrets from me."

"Kris..."

"I asked you! I reasoned with you! You made a commitment, Karen. You promised to help me though this, and now suddenly when things get hard, you turn around and sabotage me like some kind of—"

"Kristopher Jeremiah Larson, you are on dangerous ground."

"Oh, am I, Karen Theodora Grant?" he mocked back.

"If you call me a traitor..." she warned.

With much effort, Kris pushed his temper aside. "Look, I appreciate everything you've done so far—really, I do. But I know what I'm doing. So if you don't want to help me, stay out of my way. Okay?" he added with poisonous friendliness.

"I don't remember signing on as your personal slave," Karen retorted. "You want my help? Then try listening to my suggestions."

"Oh yeah, great suggestion. Just send invitations to our enemies—"

"_Your_ enemies," she corrected.

"You're a fool if you think after helping me this far, Jaquie and Gadara aren't your enemies," he said harshly.

"And you're a fool if you think you'll beat Jaquie a second time," Karen replied.

Kris' eyes narrowed. "Don't say it."

She was about to add, "Not that _you _beat her the first time." But she thought better of it, and like Kris, made an effort to reconcile the matter.

"You put me in charge of keeping our jobs," Karen said. "I'm trying to do that. Right now, the only way I can think of is to talk to them."

"Or defeat them."

"We're not going into battle again."

"_You're_ not," he said.

Karen stared.

"Excuse me," she said. "But who do you think has the army? The pokemon here may like you, but they trust me."

"Maybe," Kris said. "But I command the leaders."

It was nice to see some of that annoying certainty crumble. He should have just stopped there, but he didn't. Instead, Kris leaned forward until he was inches from her face.

"What you don't seem to realize, Karen, is that you have no power here. I control the leaders. Which means I control the armies. So why don't you stop acting so stubborn, and just do what I say while I'm telling you nicely."

"Don't talk to me like that," she said.

"Then stop arguing with me. We've worked so hard to get to this point. We have Jaquie in our sight. And you just want to quit? You want to throw away everything we gained?"

"I want things to go back to normal!"

"Well, I don't!" Kris snapped.

"You don't?" Karen said in a quiet sort of voice.

"No, I don't. I didn't go to all this trouble—"

"_You_ went to all this trouble?"

"Oh, stop rubbing it in, already!" he shouted. "Yes, you did most of the work, big deal. It's not like I wanted to be stuck in headquarters playing cards. You think I liked being bored out of my mind?"

"Bored," Karen scoffed. "What do you think this is, a game?"

Kris didn't reply.

"You think it's a game," Karen said.

Her cheeks reddened with fury. "Why did I ever agree to help you? Here, I thought you actually had a problem with Jaquie, when it turns out all you really wanted was to be entertained."

"I never said that!" Kris said.

But she turned away, striding for the door.

Angrily, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her towards him. "Hey, you'd better be glad I don't take this too seriously or I wouldn't just beat Jaquie—I'd kill her—and destroy your precious concept Team Rocket right along side her."

Karen stared at him icily. "Touch me again, and I'll break your arm."

Kris let her go. He felt sweaty and dizzy, like he had a fever. This wasn't like him. He'd felt rage before, true, but never towards Karen. Anger, yes, annoyance, certainly, frustration, all the time, but rage? And over what? She straightened her clothing, and he took a deep breath.

"Look, Karen, this is a silly argument. Gadara didn't even accept your invitation and chances are Jaquie won't either. So this whole discussion is pointless. Can't we just agree to wait until we actually have Jaquie beaten—and by that I mean, crushed, cornered, and willing to surrender—before we begin to worry about our jobs."

Karen crossed her arms. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop trying to manipulate me."

"I'm not manipulating you. I'm just saying what makes sense."

"What makes sense is not fighting a battle we're going to lose."

The calm Kris tried so hard to cultivate flew right out the window. "I am not going to lose! Don't you have any faith in me? Did it ever occur to you that I can win battles without you interfering—"

"Rescuing you," she clarified.

"Oh, shut up all ready! Just SHUT UP!" Kris yelled. "Go run back to Jaquie, then, and leave me the hell alone. I don't need your advice. I don't need your help. And I don't need to be lectured by a stupid, pathetic_, weak little girl_!"

The instant the words left his mouth, he wanted to take them back. Because Kris knew he could fight with Karen, he could yell all the insults he wanted. But he couldn't call her weak. That was crossing the line.

Karen stared at him, her brown eyes wide with astonishment and pain. Then her gaze hardened. She took a step back.

"I didn't mean..." he stammered.

She dashed her pokeballs to the floor.

"Karen, don't—I'm sorry!"

Electrode exploded. Karen's form vanished in a plume of smoke.

"Karen, wait!" Kris ran toward her. He smacked into an invisible wall. "Karen!"

He pounded on the glass, yelling her name, apologizing, begging her to come back. But the smoke faded, and Karen wasn't there. A perfect hole lay in the floorboards of the hallway.

Kris banged his fists against the wall, and the glass shattered. But by now, it was too late. She'd have collapsed the tunnel by now. He'd lost her. Kris sank to the floor and put his head in his hands. He'd really screwed up this time. He'd pushed Karen away—the only person he relied on. His partner was gone.

. . .

Jaquie had found a room without light. A curtain pasted over the window held in the sunshine. Jaquie sat in the corner with her knees pulled in, her arms wrapped around her legs. She didn't cry. She said nothing.

Nidorino sat next to her. He didn't nuzzle her or try to comfort her. She didn't want that. She just wanted him beside her—only him and no one else.

The door opened a crack. Jaquie pulled herself in tighter. Nidorino growled, the fur on his back rising.

"Jaquie," Gadara said softly. "Are you alright?"

"No." Jaquie's voice stuck in her throat.

"Do you need anything?"

"No."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Go away," she said.

"Jaquie, I'm sorry—"

"_Go away_!"

Gadara softly shut the door. Jaquie watched the light from the hall grow thin and disappear, leaving her alone with the darkness once more.

. . .

"Jared, I need you to talk to Jaquie," Gadara said.

"What am I invisible?" Jesse asked.

Gadara sat in her faded, familiar arm chair and gazed at Jared who sat cross-armed on the cushion across from her. She ignored Jesse and James and Meowth altogether. Jesse was irritable lately, and had taken her bad mood out on Gadara's furniture, kicking them like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Why should I talk to her?" Jared said sullenly.

"Because she won't speak to the rest of us."

Jaquie refused to hold a conversation with Gadara, Zeroun, Leah, or Jesse. She didn't speak to Nidorino either, but at least she allowed him to be near her. Jared was the only one who hadn't tried talking to her. He refused to go into Jaquie room, saying that if she didn't feel like seeing anyone, he wouldn't force his presence upon her.

"Jaquie's been shut up in that room all yesterday and all today," Gadara continued. "I'm starting to worry about her."

"The only thing you're worried about is your stupid city," Jared said nastily. "You don't care about Jaquie at all. You're just afraid that now that you've hurt her, she'll take revenge on you and your precious city."

Gadara sighed and stood up. "Come with me, Jared."

She led him through the rows of picturesque houses and stores, through crowds of wandering pokemon, bewildered and unsettled, but still determined to make the best of the situation. They walked to the park, where all the refugees had set up camp. There, a local symphony played a concert for them and school choirs joined in the melodies. Swaying rhythms mingled with the bell-like voices of young pokemon amidst the smell of ripe grass and the cooling shade of dangling branches.

"Okay," Jared said solemnly. "I see why you want to protect this place. But I still think what you did to Jaquie was wrong."

_I know_, Zeroun said sadly.

"I realize that now," Gadara said. "But at the time, it was all I could think to do. I was afraid to have Jaquie inside my city. I was afraid of what she might do—"

"You were afraid of Jaquie. Period," Jared said. "You still are."

James had turned on the camera and dragged Jesse and Meowth to interview the refugees. Jared noted that the many of the pokemon seemed quite familiar with the two humans.

"Yes," Gadara admitted. "Even now, I am afraid. I saw her emotions, and I can understand her motives. But I don't know she's going to do. I hurt her. The things she thought about the last person who hurt her—"

"Kris?"

"No, not Kris."

"Then..." Jared checked to see that Jesse and James were still out of hearing range. "Was it Giovanni?"

Gadara startled "What do you know about Giovanni?"

"I know that she's planning to take Team Rocket from him," Jared said quietly.

It was just a hypothesis but judging from Gadara's reaction, he'd got it right.

"How did you know?"

"I figured it out last night," he said, with a twinge of pride. "Jaquie trained her pokemon fanatically for the last two weeks, even though her assignment is to capture, not to train. She refused to let Karen and Kris tightly catch pokemon, except under her direct supervision. That might seems normal, but it's not Jaquie's style. She expects her pokemon to operate independently of her. So why not Karen and Kris?

"It seems obvious that Jaquie is creating an army for herself—an army she doesn't want Karen or Kris to have access to. She's planning to attack someone. Who? I realized she gave me the biggest hint when I caught her writing a letter to her mother. She told me there would be a sudden change at Team Rocket. I didn't get it then, but now I understand—the change is kicking out Giovanni. She's going to take over Team Rocket for herself."

_How did you make that connection?_ Zeroun asked.

"Because she told me that if the change didn't work out, to get myself out of Team Rocket _for my little brother's sake_. Jaquie has a younger sister. According to Jesse, they used to have a good relationship was good. Then Jesse joined Team Rocket and all that changed. So I got thinking—maybe something bad happened to Jesse, and Jaquie felt guilty because she's the one who hired Jesse. Then I realized: Jaquie isn't in charge of hiring, Giovanni is. From there it just made sense. Something bad happened to Jesse, and Jaquie blames Giovanni for it. Am I right?"

"You're close," Gadara said. "Too close."

"Wait," Jared said. "I just remembered something else. Jaquie told me that she wasn't a good role model. And in the letter, it sounded like she was ashamed of being a thief. Maybe it wasn't so much that anything happened to Jesse, but that Jesse was in Team Rocket at all. Which means Jaquie's mad at Giovanni for even hiring Jesse in the first place. Now am I right?"

"Yes," Gadara admitted. "But to get back to the issue at hand—"

"What do you mean he's right?" Jesse said.

She and James and Meowth had come back from their investigative reporting. Jesse stood with her hands on her hips and glared at Gadara.

"Why should she be mad at Giovanni for hiring me," Jesse said. "Does she hate me that much?"

"No, of course not," Gadara reassured.

"She's just mad we turned out to be incompetent losers," James chimed in.

"No, she's mad because you became thieves," Jared corrected. He had an excited glow about him. "Why did Jaquie join Team Rocket? It's because you were poor, right? Circumstances forced her to steal, but she really didn't enjoy it. She probably had high hopes for you, Jesse, and then you became a member of Team Rocket and those hopes were dashed."

"You mean, Jaquie doesn't hate me for being a loser," Jesse said softly. Tears welled in her eyes. "All this time, I thought she couldn't stand me because I failed her." She paused, and a fearful expression crossed her face. "But does she hate me for joining Team Rocket?"

Jesse seemed so much like a child right now that Gadara's natural instinct was to comfort her. She knew she shouldn't blurt out Jaquie's secrets, but she didn't see what harm it would do to let Jesse know her sister loved her.

"Jesse never hated you," Gadara said warmly. "Even in school, no matter how hard she was on you, she always cared for you and had your best interests at heart."

Jesse smiled, and her face lit up like a summer day.

"Jesse was Jaquie's student?" Jared frowned. "You mean Jaquie taught her how to be a criminal?"

"You didn't know that?" Alarm grew in Gadara's chest.

"No, come to think of it, Jaquie did mention something like that at the beginning of the trip. I guess I forgot." Jared shrugged. "She had to teach them. Ouch. No wonder she hates Giovanni."

While this was going on, Jesse and James were reminiscing about Team Rocket.

"Remember learning the Team Rocket motto?" Jesse's eyes misted.

"We were the first ones to act it out," James said.

"And don't forget when I added our big finisher," Meowth put in.

"What are you talking about?" Jared asked. "What motto?"

Jesse and James put on a little show.p

"Prepare for trouble." Jesse struck a pose.

"Make it double." James complimented her.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jesse."

"James."

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

Meowth hopped in. "Meowth, that's right."

Jared had to stifle a laugh. "Jaquie taught you that?"

"She taught us the words, not the dance steps. We made those up ourselves."

"So how come I've never seen Karen or Kris do that?" Jared asked.

Their faces grew dark.

"Karen and Kris were terrible students," James declared. "When they weren't trying to take revenge on Jaquie, they were either bullying us or calling us names or sticking our heads in the toilet—"

"You know I don't think they even bothered to learn the Team Rocket motto," Jesse said. "They never paid attention to anything Jaquie said."

"Wait," Jared said. "You mean to tell me you did everything Jaquie told you and ended up, no offense, the worst members of Team Rocket. While Karen and Kris ignored Jaquie and turned out the best."

"Yeah," James said with an air of isn't-life-irony about him.

Jared shook his head. "But that doesn't make sense. I've seen Jaquie train pokemon, and she isn't a bad teacher."

"Well, we aren't pokemon," Jesse said. "Except Meowth."

"I know, but... it's strange, is all. How is it that you, her dedicated students, could fail so badly, while Karen and Kris, her defiant students, were able to succeed? It's almost as if she deliberately trained you to fail."

Gadara stiffened. Jared had figured it out.

But just as quickly, he dismissed it. "I just realized how ridiculous that sounded, even for me." He chuckled.

"You know," James said coolly. "You really don't have to keep reminding us just how incompetent we are."

"I wasn't even in her school," Meowth put in.

"Sorry," Jared apologized. "Sometimes I get carried away with my ideas."

Gadara's muscles relaxed, and her heartbeat slowed to its normal rate. She made a mental note not to introduce topics to Jared from which he could deduce impossibly accurate conclusions. Luckily, the crisis averted itself.

Or so she thought.

Jesse had watched Gadara's reaction. She had seen the stricken look on her face when Jared had made his remark. Now she peered at Gadara very suspiciously.

"That's not true what Jared said, is it?" she asked. "Jaquie wouldn't _teach_ us to fail, would she?"

"Of course not," Gadara said smoothly, quickly. Too smoothly, too quickly.

"She did!" Jesse said. "That's what Jaquie was hiding! She trained us to be the pathetic losers we are!"

. . .

Jaquie opened her curtains, and dank sunlight washed in.

She had spent enough time in the darkness. She loathed Gadara, loathed Gadara's island, and loathed Giovanni for sending her here. But loathing couldn't erase her mistakes. Besides, she was sick of moping, sick of wasting precious time when she had so much work ahead of her.

Jaquie thought about her offer to Gadara and realized it still stood. Not because she liked or trusted Gadara, but because the city was in danger and within the city was Jesse and James and Jared and Meowth and her pokemon—all of whom she was responsible for. So she'd bite her jaw down and use Gadara's armies to protect them all.

The door slammed open.

Jesse burst into the room, quickly followed by Gadara and the rest of the pack. Jesse's eyes were quenched in tears, her mouth twisted with indignation, her fists trembling. And Jaquie knew, before her sister even spoke a word.

"You taught us to fail!" Jesse yelled. "You made us into losers! On purpose!"

Jaquie looked at Gadara. "You told her."

"How could you?" Jesse cried. "How could you do this to me? I'm your sister. Why do hate me like this?"

"I don't hate you," Jaquie said.

"Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it," Meowth said.

Jaquie swept her frosty gaze at him, and he shut his mouth. The rest of the group all stood frozen under Jaquie's gaze, everyone but Jesse. Like figures in the background of a picture, they could witnesses the scene, but not participate.

Jaquie turned back to her sister. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? Do you even know what you did to me?" Jesse was crying now, crying and raging, pulling her hair as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I looked up to you! I wanted to be like you! And when I couldn't—when I realized I was an incompetent, incapable, worthless member of Team Rocket—I thought it was my fault, I thought I'd disappointed you. But it was you! You taught me to a miserable failure. YOU DID!"

"You wanted to be like me," Jaquie said quietly. "Why? Did you see me as a rich, powerful success?"

"Of course. That's how everyone sees you. Why couldn't you let me be that way too?"

"Have you ever stolen a pokemon, Jesse?"

"No." Her voice clenched. "Not one pokemon, thanks to you."

"Not one pokemon," Jaquie repeated. "You've never had to watch a cocky trainer fall on his knees and beg you not to take away his best friend, his only friend, the friend he's raised since childhood. You've never witnessed the light draining out of a pokemon's eyes as its spirit breaks and it stops fighting. You've never had to feel so guilty, so ashamed you wished you could tear off your skin, so you wouldn't have to live with yourself. And you've never gotten so good at stealing, you can't stop, even when it makes you sick." Jaquie's clear blue eyes tightened. "You never had to experience any of those things. I made sure of that."

Jesse's mouth became hard. "But it wasn't your decision, Jaquie."

Jaquie looked down.

"It wasn't your life, it was mine!" Jesse's words rushed out in a torrent. "You never asked me if I wanted to fail, you just assumed you knew best. And maybe I didn't have to live with the guilt, but that didn't mean that my life was any better. Do you know what it's like to fail so many times, you don't even remember what it feels like to win? Or having your salary cut so many times, you have to gorge yourself on free samples just to survive? You had no right to do that to me! Do you know how many nights we went without food and shelter and hope?"

"Then why didn't you just quit?" Jaquie said.

"I didn't want to quit! Not until I did something right!" Jesse balled her hands into fists. "Every time we lost a battled and blasted off, I thought of you. I thought of how you'd never give up. Every time we got zapped by Pikachu, every time the boss yelled, every time Karen and Kris slapped us around and made fun of our motto—"

Jaquie's head snapped up. She turned sharp on her heel to face Gadara, who'd been gazing at her abstractedly up until this point.

"Karen and Kris are still a menace to your city and to my expedition," Jaquie said. "This is Kris we're dealing with, after all, and I'm willing to bet he'll start a fight with your city-state in less than a week."

"Are you even listening to me?" Jesse screeched.

"You will be outnumbered," Jaquie continued coolly. "To counter Karen and Kris, you will need a general, a general who can inspire your armies into top performance, a general who can think of strategies Karen and Kris will never anticipate."

Jaquie looked at her sister. "And for that position I recommend Jesse."


	36. Chapter 34: To Extend Our Reach to

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 34

**To Extend Our Reach to the Stars Above **

. . .

. . .

The shock splashed across their faces. Jesse turned pink. James turned white. Jared made a stuttering noise that sounded an awful lot like, "What?"

"You heard me," Jaquie said, quite unperturbed. "Jesse's right. I should have given her a chance to succeed. Well, here it is. She can defeat Kris."

"You're making fun of me," Jesse said uncertainly.

"No, I'm not," Jaquie said. "You wanted me to teach you. Well, this is how I teach. Go out and win the battle."

"I can't," she whispered, panic suddenly seizing her. "You know I can't win!"

"You can. You're _my_ sister." Jaquie gripped her gently by the shoulders and forced eye contact. "Just forget everything I taught you at school. Study the situation. Rely on past experience. Figure out for yourself how to win."

"But..."

"Jaquie, as much as your sister probably appreciates the gesture, this isn't an ordinary battle," Gadara put in. "There are larger things at stake: the city, the citizens—"

"Good, then she won't lose."

"Well, I don't see how she can win," Gadara shot back hotly. "She hasn't participated in a single battle while here, and you wish to pit her against the experienced armies of Karen and Kris—"

"Yes. That way they won't bully her. But I agree," Jaquie said quickly before Gadara could object, "that Jesse's new at this, so I'll lend her my pokemon. She'll have James and Meowth as her co-generals—" They both started. "—and all the experience of your armies, Gadara. It's not that hard. All she needs to do is outline a basic strategy, coordinate the armies, set up a communication system, and plan alternate tactics for when things go wrong."

"All!" exclaimed James and Meowth.

"These are my citizens you are risking!" Gadara said, with real anger rising in her voice. "I might consider lending _some _of my armies to you, but not to her."

"So you trust the leader of Team Rocket more than your self-appointed diplomats."

"She can't win!"

Suddenly Jesse spoke up. "I can win." She looked at Jaquie with defiance in her eyes. "And I will."

Jaquie gave her sister an approving nod.

"Jaquie..." Gadara almost pleaded.

"You heard her," Jaquie said coolly. "She can lead your troops. She's going to have to, because I won't."

. . .

But Gadara didn't appoint Jesse immediately. After all, she still had leaders among her own people. Besides, it was pokemon, not humans, who ruled the island. So that night, in the comfort of her study, she sat in her overstuffed chair near the crackling logs in fireplace and toyed with the names of several outstanding fighters, Leah's among them, until the stars grew pale in the sky.

The next morning was dreary and overcast. In the gray dawn, a sleepy shift took place among the guards along the border. Fresh, fluttering Butterfrees exchanged places with weary Raticates and Golbats. One Raticate, however, already seemed to be sleeping. His brown body was a heavy lump, his little eyes squeezed shut. A Butterfree tapped him impatiently on the head.

Raticate's eyes opened and his legs sprang. White teeth caught the Butterfree's body and slammed her into the dirt. Butterfree gave a cry. Her friends looked up. Other Raticate guards—other traitors in disguise—began to attack. Chaos engulfed the jungle.

Butterfrees, Golbats, and loyal Raticates all huddled in a tight knot, just as they'd been taught, and concentrated a psychic attack at their enemy. The Raticate spies scattered. For a moment, Gadara's pokemon breathed a sigh of relief.

Fearows swooped down from the trees—three, only three, but their sky attacks were fierce. As the Butterfrees flinched, fire swept in. Kris' own Charmeleon blew bright red flamethrowers through the morning mist. The shock sent the Butterfrees scattering, yelling in panic. The Golbats followed in their wake. Loyal Raticates broke and ran.

News spread in the jungle. _Traitors! Fire! Attack! Run!_

A Pinser, a seasoned warrior and the champion of many arena battles, gathered a group of grass, bug, and flying pokemon together. _Look for Charmeleon_, he ordered the flying pokemon. _When you see him, report back. We'll all work together to crush him. _The fliers warbled their approval and took to the air.

Kris' troops tore through the jungle, howling like barbarians. Charmeleon urged them forward, his voice screaming in cacophonic rage. _That's the leader_, Pidgetto yelled. Pinser nodded. Bug pokemon pressed together in the grass like a living shield, while flying pokemon wove through leaves in the trees. Pinser gave the signal.

_Now!_

They fell upon the Charmeleon.

The fire pokemon spewed flame upon the grass, but the flying pokemon knocked him down and the bugs quickly overwhelmed him. The pokemon cheered, but Pinser knew something was wrong. They had caught Charmeleon, but where was the rest of Kris' pokemon?

Raticates burst from the ground. They grabbed the necks of the flying pokemon and tried to pull them into the holes. Bug pokemon responded with stun spore. Kris' Fearows appeared out of nowhere and blew whirlwinds into the group. Paralyzing powder got everywhere. The bug pokemon were utterly confused. And then the Raticates opened their mouth and fire came pouring out.

Now no one tried to resist. All pokemon scrambled for Mountaintop City in one mad dash. _Attack! Kris! Help! Run! _The towering invisible walls stood before them. Pokemon bashed their heads into the glass, trying to break it. They kicked and punched, they sent ice and electricity and hyper beams hurling at the walls. Not a crack appeared. Flying pokemon followed the glass up, up, up to the heavens, until ice froze their wings and they came plummeting down.

Alarms rang madly inside the city. Gadara desperately tried to rally her forces. "Psychic pokemon, keep the walls up. Teleport fighters outside and get the refugees in."

The psychic pokemon ran around in confusion. Did they teleport the fighters first or the refugees? Which ones? Where to put them?

Leah was thrown into the midst of the screaming crowd. _Listen to me_, she yelled. _The walls aren't coming down. Turn around and—_ With sudden whiplash, she found herself back inside Mountaintop City.

Kris' scouting pokemon stood back and watched. They had orders to test Gadara's defenses and try to get into Mountaintop City, if they could. But seeing the refugees futilely clawing the glass, they realized their limitations. Those walls would not come down. They'd need more pokemon.

Charmeleon ordered the retreat, but not before a Fearow flew at the walls, scratching out a message with his beak.

_DOWN WITH ALL TYRANTS!_

One hundred and nineteen of Gadara's pokemon had been injured in the raid. Kris' scouts consisted of only fifteen pokemon.

. . .

"Gadara asked me to talk to Jaquie. Again." Jared slumped down on a bench. "She seems to think I can get her to change her mind."

A few hours after the attack, and things were finally settling down. After the hospital overflowed with patients, Jared was asked to set up a healing machine in the park. Zeroun helped the wounded recover, until the nurse Chanceys finally got everything under control.

Now, the solemn psychic pokemon joined Jared for a break.

_You are the closest to her, _Zeroun said._ It makes sense that Gadara would ask you._

"I've known Jaquie for less than a month."

_And yet you cracked open her deepest secrets._

"That was a lucky guess. And it's not the same thing as understanding her. I have no idea why Jaquie's refusing to defend the city." Jared looked at the injured pokemon lying on the grass. "I want to help. I really do. But I can only fix broken machines—not broken people."

_You think Jaquie's broken?_

"I don't know what she is."

_Perhaps her loss has caused her some uncertainty. She may just need to regain her confidence. Perhaps if you are just there to support her_...

"Like you support Gadara?" Jared turned his gaze to the psychic pokemon. "Zeroun, something is bothering me. You're an intelligent pokemon, smarter than even Gadara, I think. Yet you always do what she tells you. Why?"

_She is my leader. _

"So? Don't you have a mind of your own?"

_Of course I do_. Zeroun sat down on the bench beside Jared. _But you have to understand that pokemon have a very different mentality than humans. We feel compelled to follow any strong personality. Here, on this island, we fight this urge more than normal pokemon, but it still remains, carried from generation to generation. Without that instinct, Jaquie would not have been able to train the pokemon she captured._

"And Karen and Kris wouldn't be able to control the other four city-states."

Zeroun sighed. _That, too, is true_.

"I guess what bothers me is that you were the one to do the mind search on Jaquie. Gadara couldn't do it, so she asked you. If you had just refused her, we wouldn't be in this mess."

_It is hard to refuse when you are centered in a person's thoughts._

"What do you mean?"

_I was scanning Gadara's mind_, Zeroun explained. _If you listen to a person's argument with your ears, you may relate to them in some faint way, but some part of you is still detached from the person and you can still form your own reasoning. But when you enter into another person's mind, you understand them completely. It's easy to forget yourself that way._

"So if you read a person's thoughts, you understand what they're going through and why they make certain decisions?"

_Yes_.

Jared lowered his voice. "What do you know about Jaquie's thoughts?"

. . .

Jaquie had taken refuge in a meadow green library with as many bowls of flowers as books. She had a headache. Not from the flowers. Jaquie plucked a book from one of the shelves, hoping it would take her mind off it. The dog-eared covered showed a gold etching of a Bulbasaur. It seemed promising enough. Jaquie reclined on a straw chair.

The door glided open, and Jared entered. He had a glum look on his face, and his shoulders hunched. He carried a steaming styrofoam cup carefully in front of him.

"I brought you some coffee," he said to Jaquie.

She put the book down. "How'd you find coffee? I've been asking all over the city for it, and they keep saying they don't have any."

Jared handed her the cup. "It wasn't easy. I had to lead an expedition to the headquarters in order to smuggle this back. Most of the weapons and useful stuff were gone—my guess is that Karen or Kris took them—but they left the coffee."

Jaquie drank in the strong, mellifluous aroma for a moment. She took an anticipated sip. The coffee was hot and strong—just how she liked it.

"Thank you, Jared." Jaquie smiled. "That was very considerate of you."

"Not really," he replied dourly. "I brought it as a peace offering."

"For what?"

"Zeroun gave me your memories from the mind search."

Jared didn't look her in the eye. He didn't expect a torrent of outrage. More like a sad, E tu, Brute? A placid, biting answer that would make him miserable. He already felt miserable.

Jaquie didn't speak. So many of her secrets, of her emotions had been drawn out of her like water from a well, and now she felt depleted. Empty. A hole inside her had been scraped deeper until her insides felt raw. Her throat tightened.

"Fine," she said at last. "So now you have my memories. Does it help you?"

Jared shook head. "Not really." He took an awkward step near her. "I just wanted to know what was going on in your head. To understand you better—and to convince you to lead Mountaintop City against Kris."

"So you've also fallen in love with this city," Jaquie said.

"Gadara hasn't given you a tour?"

"She's tried. I've refused. I am not going to be manipulated by her sentiment."

"It's a beautiful place."

"I don't care about that."

"Do you care about Team Rocket? What do you think Kris will do to it?"

"Nothing. I run Team Rocket. If he tries to take it from me, he'll only end up destroying it."

"And that was your plan all along?"

Jaquie stared into her coffee.

"When I was a kid," she said quietly, "I used to spend days building towns out of blocks. I'd make a tower in the center and imagine looking over the entire city to make sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to. I'd build prisons to punish my enemy and walls to protect my friends and rocket ships, and I'd never let anyone touch it but me. I ruled over everything. But the best part was that anytime I wanted, I could destroy everything I built, level everything flat. And that's how it is with Team Rocket. I made it. I can dismantle it."

Jared nodded. "That's the reason Gadara trusts you, you know."

"Because I can destroy what I created?"

"Because you know good from evil."

"Because I knew what I was doing was evil, and I did it anyway. Because I knew the town I was creating was an evil totalitarian state replete with gallows and graveyards, and I continued to build it."

"Well...no, but it wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was," Jaquie said simply, mercilessly.

"It was Giovanni who forced—"

"_Everything_ is my fault." Jaquie squeezed the cup until the styrofoam cracked. "Or nothing is. I learned early on I could succumb to the chaos that is my life and be a helpless victim of circumstance. Or I could take control. I could control everything so nothing bad would ever happen to me or my family again." The black liquid spilled through her fingers and trembled to the floor in looping streams.

The image disturbed him. "Doesn't that burn you?" Jared asked.

"What?" Jaquie's eyes snapped to the leaking cup, and she cursed under her breath. "Get me something to clean this with. Is there a trash bin in here?"

"Left." Jared pointed at a small box made out of criss-crossed sticks.

Jaquie dumped the cup into the trash. She shook her hands, once, twice, brisk movements that sent the excess coffee spattering. Then she wiped her hands dry on her black jacket. Jared fished a rag from his pocket and wiped up the drippings. It was just enough of a lull for him to summon the courage to bring up the real topic he had in mind.

"Gadara wants to know if you changed your mind."

Jaquie's eyes went dark. "No."

"We can't do this without you."

"Says who?"

"This is too important for you to let Jesse handle. Kris has been mobilizing forces. He's already made a demonstration of his strength this morning and... well, it was impressive. We are outnumbered, outsmarted. What if Jesse panics or freezes up? What if she can't handle this assignment? We need to be certain. We need you."

"Stop it, Jared." Jaquie squeezed her hands into fists. "Can't you see I'm trying my best not to rush out there and make everything perfect for you?"

Jared remembered her thoughts—the constant hum of perfection, the drive to prove she could do better, long after she had been acknowledged as the best. Here she had yet another chance to prove that she was good, better, best. But she was refusing it, letting it go.

"I tried to control Nidorina," Jaquie said, "and she resisted. I tried to control Karen and Kris, and they rebelled. I tried to control Jesse's life, and she hates me. I used to my efforts faltered because I wasn't good enough, because I made too many mistakes. But now..." She let out her breath. "I'm just tired of being perfect. I could regulate block towns, even whole organizations, but I _failed_—" She bit down on that word. "—when I tried to control people."

"But do you really think Jesse is up to this?" Jared asked softly.

"Of course she is," she said, matter-of-factly. "Just because I don't want to lead, doesn't mean I've begun making rash decisions. Right now you and Gadara can't see past your assumption that Jesse will lose."

"What should we be seeing then?"

"Three things," Jaquie replied. "First, how Kris will react to Jesse. Second, how the pokemon will react to her leadership. And third, how Jesse will handle the responsibility of having to save the city she loves."

"I think Gadara would rather have a solid record of wins."

"Too bad for her. A record doesn't guarantee a future victory."

Jared sighed again. "You say there are three things to consider: how Kris will react, how the pokemon will react, and how Jesse will react. I can see how the first two might work in our favor, but I think you're mistaken if you expect Jesse will blossom into a leader overnight. Not everyone is as gifted as you. Even if she puts her all into it, it may not be enough."

Jaquie paused. "You're right. She may not be able to do this alone."

Jared let out his breath.

"Jared, I want you to help my sister through this."

"Me?" he said in surprise. "I've never been in a pokemon battle. Not on this scale anyway."

"I know. But you're good at seeing details and connecting them in interesting, insightful patterns. I'm not so sure Jesse can do that. If she's going to form a strategy, she'll need your help."

"But..." Jared said.

The thought of the future of the city, the island, and Team Rocket weighing on his shoulders overwhelmed him and momentarily struck him dumb.

"I can't—I don't want to be in charge!" He turned on her with sudden, savage anger. "Why can't you just act like you normally do? Why can't you lead the pokemon and save the city?"

He immediately looked down, ashamed of his childish tantrum.

"I'm not the hero," Jaquie said quietly. "You love this city so much. You want it to be saved? Then go out there and save it yourself."

. . .

"She won't do it," Jared said. "She wants her sister to lead."

Gadara gazed out the window. She could see her city: the buildings, the trees, the grass, the parks, the pokemon walking along the streets. It was such nice weather, the sky a tranquil blue and clear.

"Jaquie really seems to believe that Jesse is capable of this. She says that if you trust her—really trust her—you'll do as she requests."

The sunlight glinted across the barrier. The strength of the city, its safety: the invisible walls stretched high, grappling to reach the horizon.

"Gadara, I know you don't like to trust humans." Jared stepped in front of her, interrupting her view. "I know you're afraid that if you give Jesse this task you'll send your city into ruins. But Jaquie is willing to take this risk, and it's no easier for her than for you. You invaded her privacy. I think you owe her this much."

Gadara looked over him and said nothing. For a long she was silent. Jared shook his head and started for the door.

"The battle schools are ideal for recruiting soldiers," Gadara said. "Spies can relay news around the island. There's a planning room at South Point School of Battle Arts, where you can discuss strategies." Her eyes remained unblinkingly focused on the window. "Tell Jesse."

. . .

Jesse sat straight in her wooden chair in the planning room at the South Point Battle School. It had taken several recommendations from Jaquie just to get her in this position and that smarted. But she was here. She had a chance to prove herself.

The planning room was ugly. The walls had no color, the furniture was utilitarian, and there were no windows. But the doors had locks, the walls were soundproof, and a teleportation seal prevented pokemon from simply materializing in. So that was where they held their strategy meetings.

"The spies have reported that Karen and Kris went their separate ways," Meowth said. "Apparently, they had a fight. Kris is still training an army, but Karen is no longer with him."

"Great." Jared took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "So how does this help us?" He turned to Jesse and James. "What do you know about Karen and Kris?"

"Besides the fact that Kris is a bully—" James began.

"Karen and Kris are co-dependant an each other," Jesse said. "They have been for a while now. Kris is a strong attacker, but he can't defend and he never leaves a passage open for retreat. Those are Karen's jobs. If Karen was working with Kris, she'd be looking for escape routes, training legions for the sole purpose of defense, and keeping enough reserves for a possible retreat."

She endured their stares. Yes, she, Jesse, could make smart-sounding observations. But it was common knowledge that Karen and Kris worked that way, and right now Jesse wanted to get started on a plan that could actually take Kris down.

"What that means," Jared said slowly, "is that Kris will be gambling on a victory. If he loses, we'll have him and we won't have to worry about a third or fourth or fifth attack."

"But even if he's playing all-or-nothing, it only makes him that much stronger offensively," Jesse pointed out. "Because every pokemon he has will be concentrating on attack."

"We could just attack Kris," James mused. "Fight fire with fire."

"But Kris has more pokemon than us," Jesse said. "So, he's sure to win."

Jared sighed. "James, what do you have on video pertaining to the battles?"

James laid his video camera on the table. "I've scrounged for all the tapes I could find, but the only battles I have is the one with the Magmars and Machokes and the one with the Nidorinos and Nidorinas. Zeroun also says he can give us the memory of the last battle, with Jaquie versus Kris."

"We could figure out Jaquie's strategies and use them against Kris," Jared suggested.

"Kris has been in all three of those battles," Jesse said. "He knows those strategies."

"But can he fight against them?" Meowth wondered.

"Kris isn't stupid, for all his reckless charades. And he knows how to win battles a lot better than we do."

Jared sighed. "There goes that idea."

"Unless," James said. "Jared, didn't you see Jaquie train? Kris hasn't seen any of those strategies."

"Well, the strategies weren't complete," Jared said. "It was more like pieces. They were all good, but... I don't really remember them too well."

"You have to try," James said. "Mountaintop City depends on you."

"Zeroun can do a mind search on you," Meowth said. "Once you remember, we can take Jaquie's strategies and—"

"No," Jesse said.

The others looked at her.

"If Jaquie wanted to use her strategies, she'd have led the armies herself. She didn't. She chose me, and I am not going to be some lame, copycat version of Jaquie."

"Do you have a strategy in mind?" Jared asked.

"Uh, well, no. But I can think of one."

They waited.

Jesse glared at them. "I can't think with all of you watching me like that."

"Okay," Jared said. "We can come up with a plan together then. Jesse, James, Meowth, what did your learn from your experience at Team Rocket? Besides what Jaquie taught you, I mean."

There was along heavy silence.

"We learned," James said definitively, "that water conducts electricity."

"We learned that even when you're in the air the twerp can still send his Pikachu to zap you," Jesse added. "He just puts it on a flying pokemon."

"We learned how to dig holes," Meowth offered.

"And how to cover them up," James said.

"And how to keep from falling in them," Jesse finished.

"Great." Jared rubbing his forehead. He was beginning to see why Jaquie got headaches all the time. "Let's go back to the Jaquie thing. At least her strategies were useful."

"Not to us," Jesse said. "We can't execute her strategies because we don't know what we're doing. Kris will see a pathetic imitation of Jaquie, and he'll realize he can beat us. And even if we do somehow win—" Her eyes hardened. "—it will still be all about Jaquie. And it won't change anything."

"Come on, Jesse," James began.

"No, she brings up a valid point," Jared said. "Kris will be expecting Jaquie. He won't be expecting Jesse. The thing is, how can we use this against him?"

For a while no one spoke. Then, a slow smile spread across Jared's face. He laughed.

"I just had a crazy idea. I don't know if it will work, but if it does," Jared turned to Jesse, "then in the end, it won't be all about Jaquie."


	37. Chapter 35: Jesse, James

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 35

**Jesse, James **

. . .

. . .

Three sides of Mountaintop City were protected by long, thick invisible walls. These were unassailable. Its fourth side was guarded by a towering mountain that rose so high that even flying pokemon struggled to pass over it. But the mountain could be climbed. This was the city's only weak point.

Jared guessed—and the spies confirmed—that Kris would try to send his pokemon over the mountain and get into the city that way. Better to meet him on the slope where they had the advantage of height, rather than to wait for him to invade. So, here, on the backside of the mountain, they set up their defenses.

James dug in his shovel and scooped out crumbly dirt.

"Remember," he told the ground pokemon watching him, "you want your hole to have a perfectly round circumference. The sides should be smooth, so your enemy can't climb out. Now, the real trick is covering them up—"

"So this is where we'll be commanding the army," Jesse said, inspecting a large, upward jutting rock.

The rock looked over the side of the mountain, where Kris would launch his attack. James had burrowed under the rock the day before, so that all three could stand comfortably beneath it. Jesse arranged a fold-up chair below their shelter.

"Nice." She leaned back on her chair. "All I need now is a cool drink."

"I wouldn't sit there, if I were you," James warned. "The rock hasn't been reinforced yet with wooden beams. It could fall on top of you."

Jesse jumped out from underneath the rock very quickly.

Jared teleported in. "I've talked to the psychic pokemon. A few protested about not being in the fight, but in the end, they all agreed that what they'll be doing is just as important, if not more important, than the actual combat."

"Good," Jesse said, setting up her chair in the sun this time.

"So how are you guys doing?" Jared asked.

He looked around. Nidorino drilled a unit of pokemon caught by Jaquie (minus one) on barriers, reflects, and bides. Leah was in charge of fifteen Nidorinos and Nidorinas. They ran in zigzag patterns around James' holes, pushing their agility. Magmars flared and Machokes flexed. Meowth stood on a stool and cheered on the rest of the army.

"These clowns aren't doing much of anything," Jesse complained, plopping down in her chair. "I'm doing all the work."

"Like what?"

"I'm supervising."

Jared shook his head.

A shriek from the air caught his attention. Fearow flapped up the side of the mountain, panting and squawking.

"Fear, Fearow, Kris, Fear, Fear, Row."

"They've intercepted one of Kris' spies," Meowth translated. "What are their orders?"

"Tell them to eject the spy from our territory—" Jesse began.

"Wait," Jared interrupted. "For our plan to work, Kris needs to know that it's Jesse, not Jaquie, leading the defense of the city. This spy could be our chance."

Jesse shrugged. "All right. James, get over here!" she yelled and he sprang up. "We're going to put on a little act to show Kris just who's in charge of saving Mountaintop City."

"Try to look like pathetic, bumbling amateurs who don't know what they're doing," Jared encouraged.

"That shouldn't be hard," James said cheerfully.

. . .

In Kolb's study, advisor pokemon laid maps on the ebony table and eagerly discussed how many miles to Mountaintop City, how to get there, and which were the best paths up the mountain. Climbing the mountain, they agreed, would be the hardest part. That's where the fight would be. But they had superior numbers. They had to win. They'd free the city from the grip of tyrants.

Kris slouched in Kolb's chair, frowning, twirling a pen through his fingers.

"So what do you think Jaquie will do to retaliate?" he asked quietly.

The advisors hesitated. Their eyes turned to their maps.

Kris jabbed the pen into the center of the paper.

"I didn't say to look at the map. I asked you what you thought Jaquie would be up to. She has strategies in mind, she's going to think of some way to defend the mountain. I need ideas."

The advisors hushed.

"Great. Nothing. Don't you think? Don't you advise?" Kris yanked out his pen and slammed it down on the table. "What about my army? What do you think of that?"

Someone remarked in broken English that it was very good.

"I don't want flattery, I want you to tell me my flaws! Jaquie will see them, I know she will. Your job is to find them before she does. Now what's wrong with my army?"

They looked at each other and shook their heads. Nothing.

"My defense is poor, for one thing. My strategy sucks. I have no retreat, I'm attacking too soon, I don't know what my opponent is planning, and I'm being careless. What else?"

Silence.

"You're all useless." Kris threw his pen against the wall. "Get out!"

They stampeded for the door. While they bunched at the exit, a spy popped in. A huge grin lit up his face.

Good news. He had figured out what Jaquie was planning—or wasn't planning in this case, because as it turned out, Jaquie wasn't even leading the army. Jesse was. She and James were digging holes along the side of the mountain, prancing around, and giving nonsense advice about making lemons out of lemonade.

Kris shot out of his chair. "WHAT?" he bellowed.

The spy stepped back.

Kris was angry, but not at him. "That cowardly, deceitful, arrogant little—Of all the ways to insult me, to throw her _sister _at me!" he hissed. "I'll crush that city flat! She thinks I'm so weak, I'll destroy her for this!"

The spy quietly made for the door.

"Wait," Kris said. "Did you see Karen there?"

The spy shook his head.

Kris leaned back until his face pointed at the ceiling.

"Get some sleep," he said in a flat voice. "We attack tomorrow."

. . .

Jesse awoke from her soft quilt-covered bed. Fearows cackled the alarm throughout the city.

"Kris is coming," Meowth translated. "His army is on the move."

Jesse ran into the hall in a flash. James went alongside her, pulling on his shoes. Jared hopped out of his room, adjusting his glasses and trying to pat down his hair. Jesse could already hear Gadara outside making a speech. She stuck her head out the window and saw the Kangaskhan standing in the park, surrounded by other pokemon.

"Civilians will stay inside their houses or in local shelters," Gadara said calmly. "All soldiers report to Jesse immediately."

Report to Jesse. She stood in the corridor of the mayor's building in her pajamas, shaking. Her companions looked at her anxiously.

"What do we do?" James asked.

"Get everyone into position," she heard herself ordering. "James and Meowth, you two meet me at the back of the mountain. Jared, make sure the psychics know what to do."

She skidded past numerous doors and opened the door to Jaquie's bedroom. Her sister wasn't there. For a moment Jesse panicked. Then, she remembered Jaquie had been haunting the library lately. She turned left, ran up the stairs, and burst into room.

Jaquie sat in a straw chair, one hand holding an open book, the other set on the table near her coffee cup.

"The battle's begun,"Jesse said in quick, flowing voice. "I need your pokemon."

Jaquie nodded and, in no particular hurry, moved her hand from the table to her belt. She fished out her pokeballs and tossed them to Jesse. Jesse nearly dropped them in her fright.

"Good luck," Jaquie said. "And remember to get dressed before you go out there."

Jesse scampered to her room, threw on some clothes, and, breathless, ran for the battle site. She felt sick. She felt truly sick to the pit of her stomach. Yet when she arrived in front of the waiting crowd, she somehow managed to walk up calmly. She had to appear in command of the situation. Certainly James and Meowth didn't look like they were in charge: both were pale and pacing. Jared's glasses were askew and his hair sticking up in odd places.

"Is everyone ready?" Jesse asked.

"They're all in place," James said. "Except Nidorino and—"

"I have that taken care of." Jesse held up Jaquie's pokeballs.

With much fanfare, she dropped them to the floor, and ordered Nidorino's group into position. Then she addressed the crowd.

"We are here for one reason: to defend Mountaintop City. Many of us are different, but we all love this city and we're not going to see it fall. Kris won't win. We won't let him win. He has disrespected us for the last time and this time he is not getting away with it! We'll show him who's boss!"

The crowd gave an obligatory cheer and fell silent.

"Now what?" James said.

"Now I guess we wait," Jesse replied.

Clouds churned black in the sky. The wind picked up and sent chilly blasts through her hair. Thunder rumbled and a light drizzle fell. Finally, Jesse's straining eyes picked up the faint outline of Kris' army breaking through the clouds.

"He's coming by air!" Meowth yelled. "His whole army's flying!"

Indeed they were. What seemed like hundreds of Fearows, Pidgeottos, Pidgeots, Charizards, and even (they all paled) a great Dragonite, which Kris himself rode on, darkened the sky. The flying pokemon carried on their backs or in their claws Raticates and Primeapes; Charmeleons, Ekans, and Magnemites; Vaporeons and Starmies; Voltorbs, Hypnos, and Seels; Vileplumes, Weepingbells, Parasects; Wigglytuffs, Krabbies, Koffings, Raichus, and Dittos; there were even a couple Dratinis. Flying pokemon not strong enough to carry others also joined them in the air: Beedrills, Golbats, Butterfrees, Scythers, and Venomoths. Heavier pokemon lumbered along on the ground: Golems and Gravelers and Onix and Dodrios and Kabutops, carrying on them Hitmonchans and Hitmonlees and Muks, with a few Hypnos, Alakazams, and Kadabras teleporting along besides them. But it was the flying pokemon, so many flying pokemon swarming the sky, which cast fear into their hearts.

"Jesse, do something," Jared hissed. "They can't go past the clouds. They can't go past us. It will ruin the plan."

All their troops were on the ground. Some tried to shoot pin missiles or flamethrowers, but they fell short, and after Leah sternly rebuked them for wasting ammunition, they didn't try it again.

But Kris and his army were coming closer. _What if Kris' army bypasses us altogether and flies straight into the city_? Jesse thought. Fear bubbled inside her. She needed to get them down now.

"Rain," she said stupidly.

James looked up. The rain was pouring harder now. Already it had caused some of the Charizards to flinch and fly lower. A few of the Pidgeottos with heavier loads were swooning as their feathers became wet and heavy and ineffective.

"Hey, she's right," James said. "We need more rain."

"Now?" Jared said. "But we weren't supposed to have rain until—"

"Now!" screamed Jesse and James together.

Jared turned to Abra. "Tell the psychics we need showers!"

Abra disappeared. Moments later the clouds darkened and grew thicker. Rain pelted down. Dirt became mud; a mist rose eerily from this ground as cold rain met the warm humidity. The ground pokemon balked and stumbled. In the air the hundreds of flying pokemon flapped hard just to stay aloft. But damp feathers and the weight of cold water were pulling them down, lower and lower, until they were at last in range.

_Fire now_! Leah ordered.

Pin missiles flew. Battered from both above and below, the flying pokemon fluttered toward the earth.

All but Dragonite. At Kris' urgings, the dragon pokemon rose higher and higher. Kris flirted madly with the thunderstorm, weaving around the flashes of lightning, lifting his hand up to the heavy clouds of black, so close it looked like he was touching them. Then the silvery sheets of rain obscured Jesse's view, and she could only see his silhouette.

"He's too high," Jared said. "If he sees... If he knows..."

Jesse bit her lip.

Suddenly a thunderbolt broke the sky, and through the brief light of the electrical charge, they could see Kris and his Dragonite, plunging down, down, down...

"Nidorino, look out!" Meowth cried.

Nidorino looked steadfastly towards the sky. _Everyone reflect! Now!_

The thin little barriers went up together, like a line of shields. Dragonite thrust his bulk upon them and for a moment, it seemed like the reflects would crack. Nidorino's army slid backward. Then Dragonite recoiled. Jetting backwards, he flared his wings, caught the air, and charged again.

"Attack now!" Kris ordered his army.

"Defend!" Jesse yelled.

All around them invisible walls went up, just as Kris' army threw themselves off the backs of the flying pokemon and clawed their way up the mountain. They crashed upon the invisible walls like waves on a beach.

"Are we ready to go into phase one?" Jared asked.

Dragonite launched a hyper beam at the invisible wall. The golden white beam punched a hole into the barrier, incinerated the glass with a touch.

"We don't have a choice," Jesse said. "Phase one is coming whether we like it or not."

. . .

Karen sat under a small, sheltered ledge at the peak of an adjacent mountain, her legs tucked in and her arms crossed. It was cold. Most of the storm couldn't penetrate where she sat but every now and then an icy gust would push her hair back and make her skin turn to goosebumps.

She couldn't see Kris. She could barely see the army. Instead, she watched the storm. Sometimes rain would drizzle, sometimes lightning would flash and thunder rumble. Now it was slowly growing calm. The calm made her feel uneasy. The storm seemed almost to be waiting, a wide-eyed cat ready to pounce.

Obviously, the clouds were being manipulated by Mountaintop City. Kris had to realize this. He was smart; he'd figure it out. But would he know how to deal with it? Would he see the danger there? Or would he just get lost in the fight?

_He made it clear he doesn't want me around. Well, he got what he wanted. I won't interfere; I won't ruin his strategy. He'll have to lose this battle on his own_.

She felt good about this decision. She also felt empty.

And cold.

. . .

Another hyper beam, and the walls heaved and crumbled. The hole was large enough for pokemon to fit through, and Kris' army rushed through it like water escaping from a dam.

"Forget the invisible walls!" Jesse yelled. "Let them go! Stop Kris from getting further!"

The barriers trembled for a moment, then disappeared. Kris' army swept in, teeth, claws, and muscle aching for this fight. The two armies locked together. For a brief moment, Jesse's army held their own. Then the massive bulk of Kris' military overwhelmed Jesse's pokemon, biting and slashing until...

Until that familiar cry filled the air.

From atop his Dragonite, Kris made a face.

Clones were melting like butter on a hot day. Kris' army sank their claws into pokemon only to have them disappear. Instead, from out of the ground, the real army burst through Kris' ranks, gnawing into the bulk like so many mice through cheese. For a moment, confusion reigned over Kris' army.

But only for a moment.

"Everyone, use substitute, now!" Kris yelled.

Previous battles had stressed the importance of clones, and Kris had gone to great lengths to make sure all his pokemon knew substitute. At this time when Jesse and James were supposed to have an advantage, Kris' army doubled and all advantage was crushed beneath its goliath bulk.

"Now what do we do?" James asked in a panicked whisper. "They already outnumbered us."

Jesse blinked and felt a cold, swooning terror creeping in her chest. For every one of Jesse's pokemon there were four, five, six of Kris'.

"We have to eliminate the clones," Jesse said. "I need strong attacks and I need them now!"

A ripple began through Jesse's army. Only a few heard her command, and an occasional hyper beam, an occasional blizzard, an occasional solar beam flew. These attacks tore through enemy's tightly-packed pokemon, hitting two or three at once. The news spread, the ripple grew into a wave, and suddenly the earth moved, geysers erupted, the winds blustered, fire raged, and pure raw energy split the air and collided in a white and golden shock.

Leah's unit didn't attack. Much to their surprise, she ordered agility.

_Don't just run_, she clarified. _Herd the enemy together_.

Pushing and speeding and weaving through Kris' army, Leah's unit annoyed most of the opposing pokemon. They tried to step on these pests only to find that they'd scurried away. Many enemy soldiers came together in tightly-bound groups to defeat a common opponent. At this point, Leah stopped the agility and with one large hyper beam, cut the enemy asunder. The real pokemon screamed; the clones dissolved like a fog. Leah's army savagely finished off the remnants.

In the meantime, Nidorino noticed a substantial group of psychic pokemon quietly teleporting their way to the front. He couldn't let that happen. If they went too far, they'd prematurely set off phase three.

_We need to contain them,_ he told his unit. _Get in front of the psychics, get their attention, and use bide_.

His unit swiftly fell into place, molesting the psychics with spores and sleep powders and disables. The psychic pokemon by pooling their mind power into a single massive attack. But Nidorino's unit was already using bide. They collected the psychic energy, compounded it, and added their own energy. When the time was right, they sent back twice the pain they had received. Clones broke and originals reeled back. Nidorino gathered his unit and bodily shoved the psychic pokemon back down the mountain.

But it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough because Kris' army was still advancing. Too many clones, too many attacks. Kris' forces needed space and they weren't about to back up for it.

Dragonite swooped down and Kris scouted for trouble. His army was winning, but they moved like they were stuck in one giant traffic jam. Kris ordered Dragonite to find out what was the problem.

Five pillars of flame blocked entry up the mountain. When Kris' pokemon came too close, fire would snake out from the pillar and burn them. Whatever fire pokemon stood there must also have a pretty strong psychic attack. Kris' memory flickered. Fire and psychic...

Five of Kris' water pokemon rushed to the front and let loose a wall of water. The shroud of fire left the pokemon; five Magmars stood where the pillars had been. Kris memory lurched. The Magmars teleported away, leaving five Machokes, arms crossed, to brace against the water.

Magmars and Machokes. It was the first battle all over again.

The Machokes doubled over and punched the ground in unison. Mud reared up like a tidal wave and crashed back onto the water pokemon. Kris flinched, remembering the force of the blow, remembering smashing into rocks. Mud came towards him, but Dragonite veered upwards and Kris avoided the hit.

"Thanks," he said.

But he was angry with himself. For a moment, he'd let his concentration be broken. Well, that wasn't happening again.

"Flying pokemon attack the Magmars and Machokes. They're so good at attacking things from the ground, let's see how they do when they're opponents come from the sky."

Fearows, Pidgeots, and Pidgeottos swooped down.

From their rock shelter, Jesse, James, and Meowth surveyed the battle.

"I think we've destroyed most of the clones," James said. "Time for phase two?"

Jesse nodded. "Phase two begins now!"

Her voice blared confidently, but she felt much less certain. Her eyes shifted through the dreary scene. The clones were indeed gone, but so were roughly a third of her troops. Kris' already large army loomed larger. His troops slowly advanced up the mountain, seeming almost to swallow the bodies of the defeated. This was all going much faster than she thought.

Jesse bit her lip.

. . .

When Jaquie looked out the window in Gadara's library, she saw the back of the mountain rising up. If she turned at a certain angle, slouched down, and tilted up her eyes, she could see the gathering storm clouds in the sky. They hadn't broken yet. The battle was still going on.

Jaquie buried herself in her book. The epic, what she had read of it, was enthralling. The coffee had been good while it had lasted. The softly fragranced room breathed a simple peace and quiet. No one would guess a battle raged on only a few miles away.

The door swung open, and Gadara walked through. She sank into a chair and uttered a long sigh.

"You aren't with your citizens," Jaquie observed.

"I've done all I could. The people seem calm. I was surprised by their reaction. I should not have been." Her face grew tender. "They are a strong people, a brave people. I don't want them to get hurt," she added softly.

"Me neither," Jaquie said.

Gadara gazed out the window. The mountain seemed to hypnotize her; she stared at it for a long time. Then, abruptly, she stood up, got a book, and, like Jaquie, screened her eyes from the view.

"Sometimes the hardest thing is to do is to stay out of the fight," Jaquie commented. "Because then it's out of your hands. All you can do is trust others to win for you."

Gadara nodded.

Jaquie bent her eyes back to her book. _The Adventures of Roanoke_. A rousing epic.

. . .

Kris felt the conductor of a symphony. With the wave of his hand, four Pidgeots swooped from the sky and their short crescent beaks pecked the toughened skin of the enemy Machokes. The Machokes swatted in vain, but the Pidgeots flew off in different directions.

Kris waved his other hand, and four Fearows dove down into the Magmars. Long needle beaks burrowed into molten skin of the Magmars. Another motion and four more Pidgeots came. Another gesture and four more Fearows arrived. More signals, more movements, more pokemon. Kris didn't stop until he had twenty-eight synchronized birds rushing at the Magmars and Machokes.

In, attack, out, in, attack, out, and suddenly the Machokes were covering their heads and cowering. The Magmars, less hurt by the pecks, showed their defiance by sporadically combusting into flames. They were trying to disrupt the pattern, and yes, a few Pidgeots, a few Fearows, had to veer away. But instead of letting the confusion distract them, the flying pokemon adapted to it, just as Kris had trained them to do.

Now three Pidgeots flew in one second, then a Fearow, then four Fearows and three Pidgeots. The Magmars cringed, confused by the chaos they had created. A nod of Kris' head and started lifting up the enemy and dropping them. The Magmars and Machokes desperately reflected and jabbed and withered.

Satisfied, Kris turned to the rest of his battle.

On the whole, it was going well. His army surrounded Jesse's pokemon and squeezed them. Three of his psychics combined their powers against an Arbok, fighters raged against a Weepingbell, ice pokemon frothed against a Persian. Kris caught a glimpse of a Nidorino, not Jaquie's, but doing fairly well anyway. He ordered his Dragonite to attack...

"Phase two begins now!" Jesse's loud voice ripped through the cacophony of battle.

Nidorino vanished.

So did Arbok, Weepingbell, and Persian. The whole of Jesse's army shifted positions. Then the field was shuffled again. All Jesse's pokemon were teleporting in an ever-shifting flux. Kris saw Nidorino materialize near Primeape, club it with his tail, and vanish again.

Kris rolled his eyes. Where had he seen _this_ before?

His pokemon ran around, like children trying to capture their shadows.

"Don't go after them!" Kris snapped. "We outnumber them. Why should we chase them? Stand still, and let them come to us."

Standing still was making James. So he began to count pokemon.

"One, two, three, four..." James licked his lips. "...Five. Kris has five pokemon to every one we have."

"We knew we'd start off losing, but not this badly," Jesse murmured.

Jared paced in circles, wringing his hands. "This was a stupid plan."

"Don't say that!" Jesse said ferociously. "This 'stupid' plan is all we have. But I wish we had a Dragonite!" she added passionately. "Or some other pokemon we could ride around on! We're so useless here! All we can do is watch."

_And count,_ James thought.

Morbidly, he began counting the number of their pokemon that had fallen.

Nidorino and Leah hadn't fallen into the teleporting craze. Rather, they had planned to meet up during phase two. They kept their units intact and snuck onto quiet segment of land behind the lines of chaos.

_I don't think there's much to discuss, _Leah said. _Our army's getting slaughtered. I say we jump into the thick of things_ _and help as many pokemon as we can_.

Nidorino shook his head. _Look up. Half of Kris' army consists of flying pokemon. Most of them are still completely unharmed_.

_That will help us in the long-run_.

_But not in the short run. What do we do_?

Leah glanced at the black dashes that blotted the sky. _Well, we're in phase two. Why don't we teleport into the air and play leap frog on their backs?_

Nidorino responded with a fierce smile. _Agreed_.

A Pidgeotto looking at the battle suddenly found Nidorino on her back, clawing her feathers. She shrieked and shrieked, then craned back her head and trying to peck Nidorino. Her cries caught the attention of a Charizard. The fire dragon streaked towards Pidgeotto, fire streaming from his mouth.

Nidorino stayed put until he could feel the heat prickle his skin, and then he vanished. Charizard pulled up, and Pidgeotto pulled down, and both avoided a narrow collision.

The drama replayed itself throughout the sky as Nidorino's and Leah's units teleported, attacked, and left. The flying pokemon thumped their wings and snapped their beaks.

_Land on their wing_, Leah yelled to her army. _It will do even more damage. Here, watch_.

She teleported onto a Pidgeot's wing. With the arrival of new weight, Pidgeot's wing tilted at a crazy downward forty-five degree angle. Leah, tail straight to balance herself, aimed pin missiles at other flying pokemon. They smacked into a Golbat and a Charizard. Leah leapt acrobatically off the wing and teleported midair.

Kris saw and let out a groan of disgust.

"Don't just hover there like your paralyzed," he shouted at his birds. "Move! Spin, twirl, turn upside down! Do whatever crazy tricks you can think of. Just keep on moving!"

Leah, teleporting onto the wing of a Charizard, suddenly lost her balance when Charizard overcompensated for the weight and flipped sideways. Leah's claws scrabbled, but she slipped and had to teleport prematurely. She teleported onto another wing and immediately dropped. The Pidgeotto was flying upside down, in the middle of a loop.

_Wings are no good anymore_, Nidorino yelled. _Teleport onto their claws and hang on_!

He demonstrated by hitching himself onto Fearow's scaly leg and biting down, resisting the gravity of a ninety degree turn. Fearow screamed and clawed at his face.

Leah welded her teeth to a Pidgeot and felt claws rake her back. She bit down harder, flipped in just the right way to double kick the bird, and teleported away. Other pokemon thrashed and scratched and teleported in huffed breaths.

On the ground below, the struggle was far less even.

Kris felt personally compelled to one-better any of Jaquie's old strategies that Jesse used against him. "Smokescreen," he ordered. "Get back to back and use your attacks!"

Smoke billowed in patches across the field, where Kris' fire and poison pokemon fought. Wind blew, and the dark smog dispersed like ink in water. The hazy field became like a maze for Jesse's teleporting. They couldn't see where they were going.

Some panicked and teleported randomly from place to place. In this way, they quickly drained their psychic power. Other members of Jesse's army hesitated, trying to figure out where they were. But Kris' pokemon, eyes locked in a single direction, spotted them quickly and bashed them with their strongest attack.

Jesse could only listen to the horror that unfolded in the darkness.

" 'Help! We can't see—!' " Meowth translated. "Venusaur is gone. 'Try reflecting. That—!' That's all Ninetails said. Parasect is crying for some sort of strategy and Marowak is encouraging them on... now he's screaming..."

"Jesse we're losing most of our army down there," James said.

"Jesse," Jared said. "We just lost our Magmars and Machokes."

Jesse twisted her hands. "Who do we have left?"

"Nidorino's unit. Leah's unit. There's a couple of random pokemon holding their own, but they're all spread out."

"Tell everyone teleport to the front. They need to form one big group and block Kris from getting further up the mountain."

"Phase three?" Meowth asked.

"We're not ready for phase three!" Jesse yelled. "Get them into a group! We'll go to phase three when I say so!"

Leah's and Nidorino's units dropped from the sky. The rest all teleported in. Less than thirty pokemon held off the advance of hundreds. So little against so much. Jesse wanted to scream their surrender. It was easier than watching her forces collapse.

But she was gambling now. She was betting everything on this last phase. As her army became concentrated, so did Kris'. His pokemon merged into a solid mass that steamrolled her pokemon. A pressure built in Jesse's lungs, like a balloon filled with too much air, threatening to burst. She gasped and slowly let out her breath.

"Okay." She pushed past James and Meowth and tried to appear confident. "Phase three."

. . .

"Phase three."

Their numbers were cut into a fraction of the original number. Their army strained and backed up, flimsy against Kris' concentrated forces. Leah's matted fur bristled and her claws dug into the earth. Nidorino's sides heaved against his rib cage, and his eyes were wild and desperate. The rest of the pokemon reeked of defeat. Some limped back, some cowered, some set up constant reflects to shield against the barrage of attacks. Many swooned and lay still in the mud.

Phase three. Jared's stomach wrenched. If this didn't work...

He looked towards Jesse, James, and Meowth to see how they were reacting. Jesse's head was up, her hands was on her hips, and there was a triumphant look in her blue eyes. She looked like a leader. No, she looked like she was trying to be a leader. Her face was almost stupidly arrogant, her chest was puffed up.

Jared wondered what Jaquie would look like in her place. Her eyes would be cool, her expression would reveal nothing. Kris would suspect.

Maybe the plan would work, but only because Jesse was in charge.

"Phase three!" Jesse yelled more loudly. "Everyone into phase three now!"

At Jesse's cry, her remaining troops gave ground rapidly. In long, backward strides they advanced up the slope of the mountain. The rain was pouring harder now, not quite in sheets, but enough that pokemon on both sides clenched their jaws against it. Flying pokemon flew lower and ground pokemon roared in pain. Steam hissed from the backs of fire pokemon. The mountain side became slick in mud. Jesse's pokemon were slowing giving ground with difficulty, and Kris' pokemon dug in their claws and advanced at a cautious pace.

Then, with sudden impatience, Leah issued her own order. "Niiia, Nidoriona! Rina, Ri, Niiia!"

"We're close enough," Meowth translated for them. "Break and run!"

Jesse's pokemon turned and ran recklessly up the slippery slope. Kris' pokemon shot at them as they fled, cheering and pursuing them up the mountain.

Then one fell into a hole. Jared saw it, a Jolteon, disappear below. More of Kris' pokemon fell, an Alakazam next, and then an Exeggutor. They gave small, trailing cries before the thick ground swallowed them into nothing.

Phase three. Jared wrung his hands and prayed it would work.

. . .

"Everyone into the air, now!" Kris screamed.

The traps appeared like a minefield, suddenly and randomly. Five pokemon were swallowed by the earth and the rest stopped running.

"Into the air!" Kris roared. "NOW!"

Fearows and Pudgiest snatched what pokemon they could. A few psychic pokemon teleported onto the backs of large birds. Kris' Dragonite set the example by shooting straight into the sky.

"Go, go, go. Hurry up!"

Wings stretched out and flapped heavily. Flying pokemon pulled into the air. The birds strained against the downpour, desperate to go up, up, up.

"Higher!" Kris ordered. "You're still in range."

In range of what? They'd ask if they had breath. But the rain pounded too hard, added too much weight, and they had no excess energy to question their leader.

Kris knew his army was wrecking themselves in this upward plummet, but they could rest later. All that mattered was getting his army off the ground. The holes didn't concern him but what was hidden inside.

Let them get out of range. Then all the exploding Electrodes and Cloysters wouldn't do Jesse and James a lick of good. Kris knew their strategy before they even deployed it; those dimwitted fools had done nothing but copy Jaquie throughout the battle. Let his army get out of range, let them shatter their enemy's last hope, then Kris' pokemon would slaughter Jesse's army from above.

They broke from the ground, drenched and nearly touching the clouds. Now the flying pokemon stopped. They hovered in midair.

Kris stared.

An army of Mountaintop City's finest Pidgeots, Fearows, and Pidgeottos dove down from behind the clouds, where they'd been waiting. Atop each flying pokemon sat a small, cute, yellow mouse pokemon.

Jesse, James, and Meowth looked at each other and grinned.

"Pikachu," they ordered together. "Thunderbolt attack!"


	38. Chapter 36: Team Rocket Blast Off at the

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 36

**Team Rocket Blast Off at the Speed of Light**

. . .

. . .

Karen turned away from the battle. It was over.

Her partner had lost. Jesse, James, Meowth, Jared, Gadara, Mountaintop City, and Jaquie had all won. How was Karen supposed to feel about that? Happy?

_Kris will be alright_, she told herself. If Jesse and James could endure Pikachu's electrocution, her partner certainly could.

Still, Karen didn't watch the actual moment. She missed the thunderbolt.

But she did see what happened after. The giant bird pokemon falling to the ground like dead flies. The pathetic wreck of Jesse and James' army surrounding them. The surrender. She even watched as Kris was arrested and taken away.

The clouds rolled away, but the wind blew colder than ever. Karen rubbed her arms. The pokemon left the mountainside, and Karen remained seated on the floor of her little cave, knees pulled up to her chest, alone.

Now what?

She didn't want to go back. Back meant to the city-states, to Kris' old schemes, to war against Jaquie. No, she couldn't go back.

But she couldn't go forward either. She couldn't go into Mountaintop City and face a defeated Kris and a triumphant Jesse. She couldn't bear the guilt of betraying her own leader.

She shivered. _I don't belong anywhere._

_I don't need to belong,_ she thought defiantly. _I can survive on my own. I won't prove Kris right. I won't be some weak little girl. I'll show him just I can hold out just fine without him_.

She dusted off her skirt and headed down the mountain. Karen kept her chin high and her back straight. But her feet betrayed her, and she trudged into the jungle with slow, heavy steps.

. . .

The celebration lasted a week. Parades were held, honors were bestowed, parties were thrown. Jesse was swamped with medals and gifts and praises. It turned her a laughing pink and gave her a big head, but she was happy. Finally, her little sister was happy.

Jaquie chose to stay out of the spotlight. This was Jesse's moment, not hers. Besides, she had other work to do.

The surrender caused almost as many problems as it solved. Mountaintop City didn't have enough jails to hold Kris' entire army, but fortunately most had lost the will to fight. In the end, Gadara simply explained Kris' deceit and teleported the pokemon back to their city-states. They returned to their normal lives, disillusioned and disheartened but wiser as well.

Gadara also confirmed that the other four mayors had been drugged with amnesia serum. The advisors stepped up in their place. But the four city-states were in the midst of a crisis. Pokemon had been tricked into violating their sacred principles; many were depressed and confused. The advisors asked Gadara to help their citizens deal with these issues, and Gadara was only too happy to oblige.

Strangely, this left Jaquie in charge of any important matters in Mountaintop City. First, she had to arrange a prison for Kris and set up a rotation of guards. When pokemon wanted to return to the jungle but worried about Karen, Jaquie made a brief speech, advising them to ignore her.

"Karen isn't as vicious as Kris and she doesn't attack well. Chances are, if you leave her alone, she won't hurt you. We'll catch her once things settled down. For now, be cautious and you should be fine."

This calmed some, but not all of the pokemon. So Jaquie organized volunteer police, sent them on patrols, and set up a system of communication throughout the island. By the time Gadara returned to Mountaintop City, Jaquie had seeped into the lives of the pokemon there. They still regarded her as distant and intimidating, but they respected her.

She wasn't so evil, after all.

. . .

Gadara opened the door so softy that Jaquie didn't hear her come in. Jaquie's head curled deeply into the covers of a massive gold-plated book. Gadara knew that book well. It was the founding document for the island of New Pax and the rules of governance for all five city-states.

Jaquie's face looked peaceful, contemplative. She closed the covers and set down the book on the rough-oak table. Only then, did her eyes fasten to Gadara.

"I've been looking for you," Gadara said. "I might have known I'd find you here. You seem to have made the library your own private place of recluse."

Jaquie nodded toward the book. "I wanted to learn about the island."

"So I supposed."

"Why did you break the Alliance Obligation?" Jaquie asked.

Gadara sat down across the table. "Because I knew humans were a threat. I wanted to keep them away from us, and I didn't think the other city-states would approve."

"So you became a dictator."

"Yes," Gadara admitted. "I did."

Jaquie nodded. "We're a lot alike, you and I. We have too much power. We try to use it to protect others only to have it backfire on us."

"I know its wrong," Gadara said. "It is not fair for them not to have a choice."

"It's not fair for us, either," Jaquie pointed out. "We have to lie and deceive and weave our tangled webs alone. We carry the weight of the responsibility and the guilt."

"Rationally, I know this. And yet... I still don't want humans on this island. We aren't ready. Karen and Kris proved as much. Humans created our culture, yes, but they can just as easily destroy it, unless we learn how to live without them, how to be strong without them, and how to make decisions without them."

"You can't keep humans away forever," Jaquie said.

"I know," Gadara said sadly.

Jaquie looked thoughtful. "You came looking for me. Was there something you wanted?"

"Oh yes," Gadara said. "I think I have a way to make up for the mind search."

Jaquie crossed her arms and inadvertently tightened.

"I know I can never completely atone for what I did to you," she said apologetically. "But I thought I'd try. Giovanni will pick you up by boat, correct? Well, I've talked to water pokemon in the Northern Shore and the Northeastern Beaches, and they're willing to help you exact your revenge."

Jaquie's eyes remained hard. Gadara shifted.

"It's just a suggestion. You can refuse, if you like."

"No." Jaquie straightened herself. "If I want revenge against Giovanni, I'll need your help. I'll take your offer, but not as a patronizing way of mending my hurt feelings. We'll strike a deal. You lend me the army and in return I'll keep your island a secret."

Gadara opened her mouth to protest that wasn't necessary, but her words looped around on her tongue.

"You can do that?" she found herself asking.

Jaquie smiled. "Only three people know the location of this island: me, Giovanni, and one of the sailors who first discovered it. The sailor isn't your problem and after I finish with Giovanni, he won't be either. The only in a position to tell your little secret is me."

"And you won't do that if I help with your revenge?"

Gadara spoke proudly, even warily, but her insides quivered. This was what she yearned for deep within her heart: time. Even just a couple years free of humans would be enough.

"I can't guarantee humans won't come to your island," Jaquie said. "But if they do, it won't be from me. This will be a simple business transaction between the two of us. No patronizing, no favors." She stuck out her hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Gadara hesitated. Was she was doing the right thing? She had tried to isolate her people before and it had been a disaster. Yet, Gadara knew in her heart that they weren't ready for humans yet. She'd learn from her mistakes. She wouldn't protect them this time; she'd teach them independence. And she'd hope for the day when humans returned and pokemon could bargain with them as equals.

"Yes." Gadara took Jaquie's hand in a firm handshake. "We do."

. . .

They all gathered in Gadara's study that night.

Gadara sat quietly in her arm chair, and Zeroun stood behind her. Jesse, James, and Meowth chatted by the fireplace as the sparks popped, while Jared paged through the bookshelf for titles. Nidorino lay with his legs stretched out on the floor besides Leah, who watched Jaquie with attentive curiosity.

Jaquie waited. When the talking settled into a hush, she spoke.

"You are all aware, I'm sure, that we have only three weeks left on this island."

Actually, they were not aware.

"We're leaving so soon," Meowth protested.

"Two months," Jaquie said. "That's how long this expedition is supposed to last."

"Has it only been five weeks?" Jared wondered. "It seems like we've been here forever."

"Can't we stay longer?" Meowth asked. "We all like it here."

From her corner, Gadara made a small smile.

"Unfortunately, no," Jaquie said. "In three weeks, Giovanni's boat will come to pick us up."

"And then we can tell him how we beat Kris' army." Jesse perked. "He'll hire us back for sure. We'll be part of Team Rocket again."

Her statement echoed into silence.

"You didn't tell her?" Jaquie said to Gadara.

"Tell me what?"

"We were busy with Kris. It must have slipped my mind."

"Tell me what?" Jesse yelled again.

"That I'm going to overthrow Giovanni and take Team Rocket from him," Jaquie said. "Once I have control, I'll disband all criminal activity and turn it into a legitimate business. Do you understand? The Team Rocket you know will be gone."

It seemed that none of the trio had been informed. Jesse's face became white with shock, and Meowth's mouth gaped open.

"What?" James squeaked.

"You can't do that," Jesse said frantically. "Everyone knows Giovanni is the boss. They won't listen to you. They won't let you destroy Team Rocket."

"The science department will," Jaquie said calmly. "Most of them only entered Team Rocket for the money to research their projects, and I'll continue to provide that. The people who capture pokemon? They'll continue under my supervision. The lawyers, the tax accountants, the financial advisors, the managers of our Rocket casinos, the secretaries, the clerks, the laborers? They don't even know Giovanni exists. Giovanni may be content to call himself the boss and sign paychecks, but as far as actual work goes, I'm the one in charge."

"It's true," Jared said. "In the science department, there's a saying. 'Make Giovanni happy to get a raise. Make Jaquie happy to keep your job.' Jaquie has that much power."

"But then why destroy it?" James asked. "You're not nobodies like us. You helped to create Team Rocket. Most of what happens in Team Rocket comes from your ideas. Why would you want to tear that all apart?"

"I never wanted to be a thief," Jaquie said in a soft voice. "That was _his_ idea. I never wanted to lead a corrupt organization. That was _his_ idea. And I definitely did not want my sister to join Team Rocket. _That_ was _his_ idea. So I'm not just going to destroy Giovanni, I'm going to eradicate his life's work. I'll wipe out his past, his present, and his future—his whole eternity—just like that."

She sighed. "But you're right about one thing, James. Team Rocket is my life's work as well. That's why I can't destroy it altogether. Team Rocket will continue to exist. It will be altered, but it will survive."

"But what about us?" Jesse cried. "What place can we have in it?"

"You want to come back?" Jaquie tilted her head. "Aren't you reporters now?"

Jesse recoiled. Yes, they were. She'd been squeezing so hard to the idea of Team Rocket that she'd failed to see the truth. There was no going back. Jesse felt like she'd fallen from a cliff. All this time they'd been playing at reporter—but that was their future now.

"I know this is a shock to you," Jaquie said as gently as she could. "But we still have other business to cover. We need to decide who's staying on this island and who's going home."

She looked at Meowth and Leah.

"Jaquie and I talked it over," Gadara said. "Any pokemon Jaquie captured is free to stay here or come with her to the human world. Meowth, the same goes to you."

"If I stay," Meowth said slowly, "can Jesse and James stay here, too?"

Gadara shook her head. "They can visit. In fact, it would be good to hear from you from time to time. But for now I want my citizens to get used to living without humans."

"Nia, Nidorina?" Leah asked.

"No, you don't have to decide now," Gadara replied. "You have the three weeks to think it over."

"Nido, Nidorina, Aren? Nia, Ni, Rina?"

"That's a good question," Gadara said. "Leah wants to know what will happen to Aren and the other pokemon Kris dosed with amnesia serum."

"There is an antidote," Jared spoke up. "The formula's in the Team Rocket Labs. I don't know it offhand, but I know it exists."

"We'll find it and send the antidote as quickly as possible," Jaquie said. "They should be all right for three weeks."

"Three weeks." James sighed. "So little time."

Jaquie nodded. "Only three weeks to make our plans, to say our goodbyes, and to decide who stays and who goes. So enjoy what time you have, because after these three weeks, everything changes."

. . .

There was a sense of leaving in the air. April was beginning. The nights grew warmer and the birds chirped longer and little blasts of wind shook the trees. Soon the others would be off the island. Leah wondered if should she go, too.

The other pokemon Jaquie captured decided right away to stay on the island.

_What happened to all that talk about pokemon and humans belonging together_? Leah challenged. _What happened to learning from them? What happened to friendship_?

_Well, it was nice training with her. But the Southern Tropics is our home. Our families are here. We've learned what we could from her, but, well now, it's time to go home. And Gadara is our leader_.

They were fickle, Leah realized. Training with Jaquie had been exciting, but now that they were in the city again, they hesitated to leave the comfort of their homes. These pokemon changed loyalties according to proximity, from Gadara to Jaquie and back to Gadara again.

Perhaps Leah was fickle too, but in the opposite way. Everything about the island felt stifling to her. There was no challenge, no growth, no variety, just the same old traditions that made her bored and lazy. Maybe it was time for Leah to leave her home, to set out on her own and find adventure in the human lands.

The days passed by with speed. One day Leah found Jaquie reading in the library one and decided she had put off her decision long enough. She took a paper from the desk, dipped her tail in ink, and wrote her answer.

_I'm going with you._

Jaquie smiled. "I'd hoped you would."

. . .

"Meowth, are you going to stay here?" James asked.

"No way." Meowth crossed his paws. "I already told Gadara. We're a team. Maybe not Team Rocket anymore, but we stick together no matter what."

This island was his mother's home, not his. Meowth loved Mountaintop City with his whole heart. But his place was beside the only two humans who had ever really loved him back.

He had to stay with Jesse and James. What would they do without him?

. . .

Jared lingered at the library door. He had mostly avoided Jaquie since Zeroun let him on the contents of her mind search. Did she still hate him for looking through her memories? He tried to apologize once during the celebrations, but she only gave him a dark look and told him not to mention it.

"Nidorina—Leah—I command you not to make a mess. Hey, stop, I said I command you."

Jared took deep breath and pushed the door open.

Jaquie blocked with her arm. "Jared, look out!"

But it was too late. Globs of blue paint spattered on his sweater and glasses. Jaquie took one look at him and cracked up.

"I suppose you think this is funny," he said, trying to wipe off the paint. "You know, I don't think I ever heard you laugh before."

"Oh no. You've discovered my secret. I am not a soulless, training machine. I am in fact human! How shall I go on now that my weakness is exposed? Leah, too much paint, you're smearing it."

In response Leah raised her tail and good-naturedly shook off paint in all directions. This time Jared ducked—and the paint got in his hair.

There was paint in Jaquie's hair too, but she didn't seem to mind. She laughed and her eyes sparkled like a flowing stream.

"What's this project?" Jared asked, feeling more comfortable. "Art class?"

Nidorina stood on a gigantic wooden board and carefully smeared paint across it with the tip of her tail. Nidorino, Slowbro, Dodrio, and Rhyhorn dipped claws and toes in paint and made much less legible scribbles on sheets of paper.

"Well, Nidorino, Slowbro, Dodrio, and Rhyhorn are learning to write," Jaquie said. "And Leah is working on my plan to capture Karen."

Karen had been at large for some time now. The patrols couldn't catch her and neither could Jesse and James' traps. She was troublesome, if not particularly dangerous.

Jared smiled. "I knew the solution would spring from your brilliant mind. So what's your strategy?"

"That board." Jaquie pointed.

"That's it?"

"That's all we need." Jaquie handed him paper. "Here's the basic outline."

Jared skimmed it over. "Simple, clever, and effective. It's foolproof. But why's Leah the one doing the painting?"

"Because my handwriting sucks," Jaquie said.

He handed back the paper. "Gadara wants to talk about the plan to take over Giovanni's boat. If you have time."

With a nod, Jaquie became all business. "I have some now. Can you supervise them, Jared?"

"If Leah stops shedding paint, then yeah."

"Good." She began to leave.

"Jaquie?"

"Yeah?" She turned around.

"You have paint on your hair."

Jaquie smiled and rubbed her head.

. . .

Humidity made Karen's hair wild, and it frizzled and tangled at her neck. Karen tried in vain to pat it down. Her hair had grown so dirty and disgusting over the last two and a half weeks, all she wanted to do was get it out of her face. She wished she had her brush, but she'd lost it sometime ago. Heck, she didn't even have a rubber band. She'd have cried if someone offered her one.

Karen crept by the stream. It seemed tranquil enough. She listened, heard the noises of the jungle and her own breathing. Still wasn't convinced, so she crawled hands and knees to the stream, stole a sip, hid behind a rock, and positioned her (unloaded) revolver. Nothing happened. She took out her pokemon and let them drink. Tried to clean herself. She had a cut on one leg that was caked in blood and dirt. Didn't want an infection.

Karen withdrew her pokemon and, feeling hungry, decided to gamble on the fruit trees down the river bank. The peanut butter she'd salvaged five days ago was going fast. She reached for an apple—and froze.

A large wooden sign post stood among the trees. English letters in bright blue paint dripped down the board.

_Turn yourself in Karen._

Was this another one of their traps? If so, it was an obvious one. Karen didn't dare touch the sign, but she could read it just fine from here.

_Turn yourself in, Karen._

_We're sick of chasing you. You're sick of running. Turn yourself in._

_You're low on food, your weapons are broken, your clothes are ragged. You have no medical equipment, and your pokemon are sick. You lost your partner. Turn yourself in. _

_The boat arrives May 1__st__. At this point all humans will return home. You will not be permitted to sneak onboard. You have no water pokemon, no pokeballs with which to catch water pokemon, and no pokemon on this island, water or otherwise, will be persuaded to do you any favors. _

_If you walk into Mountaintop City any time before May 1__st__ you will be respectfully escorted to your prison. You will have food, water, shelter, medical attention, a new set of clothes, and security. Your pokemon will be treated. You may briefly talk to Kris if you like. On May 1__st__ you will be permitted onboard the ship and taken home. _

_You don't have to prove how tough you are, Karen. We already knew. Please, turn yourself in._

Karen looked at the sign once more and left. The next day she walked into Mountaintop City. She was taken to her prison cell, a plain but not uncomfortable room. Her copy of _Wuthering Heights_ rested on the bed. A nurse checked her leg, brought her a thick soup, and asked if there was anything else she needed.

Karen requested a brush. Once she received it, she combed her hair until it shone.


	39. Chapter 37: Surrender Now or Prepare to

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Chapter 37

**Surrender Now or Prepare to Fight**

. . .

. . .

Giovanni sat on the deck of his private yacht, thinking about power and pokemon. Or more precisely, thinking about the power these new pokemon would give him.

Surviving two months without Jaquie hadn't been easy. With her gone, all production had ground down to a halt. It would be worth it though. Giovanni leaned back in his chair and pictured the hundreds of pokemon Jaquie must have captured by now. An army of pokemon, that's what he'd soon have. He'd use their strength to capture even more pokemon, concentrating wealth and power in his own hands. But first he'd apply the amnesia serum; he already had several dozen containers stored in the lower decks.

The waves lapsed gently against his boat, and Giovanni took off his sunglasses. Was it his imagination or did the sea actually seem to grow calmer? Over his head, the sky was a vivid blue with nary a cloud in sight. Weren't there supposed to be storms surrounding this island? What had happened to them?

"Sailor," he called. "Are we going in the right direction?"

"According to this map of yours we are."

"Well, are we near the meeting point?"

"Passed it half an hour ago," the insolent sailor replied.

Giovanni felt annoyed. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Didn't see no storms. You said there'd be storms."

Giovanni frowned. What a fool. Still, the sailor was not such a half-wit that he could not read a simple map, and they had been traveling for a long time. Maybe Jaquie had discovered the source of the storms and put an end to them. He wouldn't be surprised. He'd learned long ago not to underestimate the girl.

His navigator squinted. "Is that the one we're looking for?"

Giovanni peered off the deck. A Lapras swam towards them on the smooth, crystalline waters. Jaquie stood atop the large, rare pokemon, appearing still and calm.

"That's her." He put back on his sunglasses. "Throw over the ladder so she can climb aboard."

The sailor (whose name was Scott though Giovanni hadn't bothered to learn it) grumbled to himself as he unfurled the rope ladder. He was an older man of about sixty with rough tan skin and a white beard. After sailing so long, he should have been captain of his own vessel, but hard luck had reduced him to being an errand boy for a rich fool. Without so much as a glance, Scott hurled the ladder overboard. The rope slapped the Lapras' shell.

"Hurry up," he yelled. "The boss doesn't like to be kept waiting."

No reply.

Scott looked out over the railing. Lapras waited alone in the water. Jaquie was gone.

Sunlight glinted off Giovanni's sun glasses. Then, suddenly a shadow fell over him. Giovanni startled as Jaquie promptly materialized in front of him, hands clasped behind her back.

"Ah, Jaquie." Giovanni took off his sunglasses. "Welcome back."

Jaquie said nothing. She stood like a pillar, cast in shadow.

Not quite knowing how to respond to, Giovanni struck up his familiar chord of greasy praise. "Training a Lapras is quite an accomplishment, though a pointless one, I must say." He rubbed his chin in contemplation. "I think that Lapras will be quite an asset to my collection, once I wash away its memories and make it my obedient slave. It is a rare and valuable pokemon, indeed." Giovanni couldn't control his eagerness; he leaned over. "What else do you have for me?"

Again, Jaquie made no reply other then to stare at him with blue eyes hard as ice. Her silence began to irritate him, and there was some quality about it that made him feel vaguely unsettled. Perhaps it was how she towered over him, clothed in black, face darkened by shadow, as stiff and quiet as the grim reaper.

Giovanni clamored to his feet. "Answer me!" he yelled.

Something else bothered him, and, looking around to gather his allies, he soon realized what it was.

"Where's Karen? Where's Kris?"

And Jaquie spoke.

"You took me in," she said in a low and slowly malevolent voice. "You gave me a job and a paycheck. You made me strong and independent... and then you made me a thief."

Something was wrong with the water, Scott noticed. Dark, murky circles dotted the otherwise-clear ocean near Lapras. Scott peered over the edge of the railing... and almost fell backwards.

A Gyradose exploded from the waves. Water dripped from the curve of water dragon's back and made its blue diamond scales shimmer. Gyradose glared at Giovanni with raging amethyst eyes and a mouthful of snarling teeth.

The slick-haired leader stumbled back. His sunglasses fell to the ground.

"You made me steal from pokemon reserves," Jaquie said softy. "You made me steal from other trainers. You spied on my family and used them to control me."

"I made you rich!" Giovanni spat. "I made your powerful, and this is how you repay me!"

"You made me miserable," Jaquie said. "My work and innovations granted you money and power. All you did was give me back what I already earned. But that's not what bothered me."

Another Gyradose shattered the surface of the water, then another. Six pairs of purple eyes narrowed in on him. Giovanni flinched and pressed his back into the ship's mast. Jaquie took a step forward, stepping on his sunglasses. The plastic snapped and broke.

"You let my sister join Team Rocket," Jaquie continued, and only now did emotion leak into her voice: a hiss of hatred, small as an atom, but in it Giovanni heard his doom. "You made me teach her. You made me corrupt my own sister."

More Gyradose erupted from the water and Giovanni shook. The dragons bared their teeth at him. But they were nothing compared to Jaquie. Her vindictive blue eyes, hard as Gyradose scales, cut deep into his soul.

"I suggest your surrender now," Jaquie said coldly. "Because you aren't going to win this fight."

As Gyradose burst from the water like fireworks on the fourth of July.

. . .

"Let me out of here! Do you freaks hear me, let me out!"

Kris slammed his shoulder into the door. It made a hard _bam. _The door flapped. Kris pounded the door with his red, raw fists.

"Let me out! You can't keep me locked up forever! Let me out!"

"Shut up!" his guard screamed.

"Let me out!"

Kris looked around the ship's cabin for something else to make noise with. He'd already smashed apart the bed, the only furniture in the room. He yanked off a broken wooden board and banged it against the wall.

"Let... me... out!" he cried with every whack.

_Sheesh, yours is loud, _a new person complained-probably a psychic pokemon, judging by its voiceless way of speaking. _I can hear him all the way across the hall_.

"I know," his guard replied in grouchy tones. "He hasn't shut up for one moment since we got inside the boat."

Kris wrenched an iron bar from the bed frame and swung it against the door handle, trying to break it off.

"Stop that!" the guard bellowed. "Or I'll toss you into the ocean."

"Go ahead!" Kris yelled back. "I know how to swim!"

_Why don't you just tie him up?_ the psychic pokemon suggested.

"I've tried. Three times! He keeps getting lose and then he destroys the room," the guard grumbled to his friend. "Twice I've had to relocate him. And he won't shut up either. I've been listening to this racket for nearly two hours now."

_I'm lucky_, the psychic pokemon said. _Mine's easy. She hasn't made a sound this entire trip. I peeked in the room, and she was sitting in the corner, not making a sound_.

Kris lowered his iron bar. "Karen. You're guarding Karen, aren't you? I want to speak to her."

"You aren't getting any visitors," his guard said. "Now be quiet."

"You want quiet?" Kris smacked the iron bar into the door, again and again, until it wheezed and splintered. "You want quiet? Then send me Karen!"

_Oh, let him see her_, the psychic pokemon said. _My eardrums are going to rupture. She won't do anything anyway, and we can separate them if he gets too loud_.

Kris' guard made a begrudging, grumbling sound. Moments later Karen teleported in.

Her arms were wrapped around her knees and her face was cast downward. She must have sensed she wasn't in her usual room, for she glanced up and her brown eyes inadvertently met Kris. She quickly looked away, but Kris kept gazing at her long after she broke eye contact. His eyes fell upon her golden hair, her curved back, her shoulders, and her face. It felt so good just to look at her again; Kris hadn't seen her or any other human in over a month.

"What do you want?" Karen asked after awhile.

It was nice to hear her voice too, even if it wasn't filled with its normal spice and vinegar.

"You were loud," she continued. "I could hear you in my room."

"Yeah, well," Kris said, and his voice was hoarse. "I needed something to blackmail them with, or I wouldn't have gotten to see you again."

"Well, what do you want?" Karen asked with a little more snap. "And would you stop gawking already; you're making me uncomfortable."

"Sorry," Kris said. "Look, Karen, I told them to bring you here, so I could apologize for... you know..."

She knew, but she still wouldn't look at him again.

"At the Northern Shore..." He gestured vaguely. "When we had an army and... Oh, forget it. Look, Karen," he said, trying to tell it to her straight. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I yelled at you and called you weak and a little girl and...and everything else, okay?" he finished quickly. "I'm sorry."

She didn't say anything. Her head turned towards the wall.

"You're not going to forgive me, are you?"

"No," she said.

He sighed. He knew this wouldn't be easy.

"Karen, I said I'm sorry. And I mean it, too. But honestly what did I do that was so terrible? So I called you weak. I know you're not weak, you know you're not weak."

"You knew it bothered me," she said shortly.

Well, at least she was talking to him now. "I insult you plenty of times, and it doesn't—"

"You knew," she cut him off. "You knew I hated to be called weak. You knew I wouldn't take that from my own brothers, and I damn well wasn't going to take it from you. You knew there was a line there, and you crossed it."

"I was angry, Karen," he said. "I lost my temper. I didn't mean it. I was just trying to—"

"—Push me away," she finished for him. "I was no longer useful to you—in fact, I was getting in your way—so you said the only thing that could make me leave."

"I..." Kris became angry. "Yeah, you know what, I did. So what? You made me feel like an idiot and a failure, but you don't see me holding a grudge. It's only words, Karen."

"Only words?" she echoed.

Kris expected Karen to fly into a long speech about being insensitive and how words could be hurtful, blah, blah, blah. He should have known better; his old girlfriends gave him lectures like that. Karen wasn't nearly as verbose.

She crossed her arms. "You know, while I was away I tried to think of words that could hurt you just as much as yours hurt me."

"Words don't hurt me Karen," he said softly.

"I found them in jail," Karen continued. "Two sentences."

Kris blew out his breath. "Fine, you want to hurt me. Be my guest. Insult me all you want, call me all the nasty things you can throw at me. Whatever makes you feel better."

Karen looked him in the eye. "When I was in jail, Jaquie offered me the chance to speak with you. I didn't take it."

Kris stared at her. "What? You didn't want to talk to me?" He curled his fists to keep from screaming. "Karen, I called you one little insult, and you... you excommunicate me! How can you even compare what you did to what I said?"

"You pushed me away. I pushed you away."

"I didn't mean to push you away!" he said loudly. "I tried to call you back!"

Karen turned her head. And this time, Kris turned away from her, too. He looked at his walls, his door, his banged-up bed. They were things. All he had seen for four weeks. He turned back to her.

"You're right," he said quietly. "It did hurt."

Karen looked at him.

"Feel better now?" he asked acerbically.

She shook her head. Actually she felt worse. It wasn't like she enjoyed surviving the jungle alone. Not shut-in, but pent-up, pent up with fear and hunger and loneliness. She had punished herself as much as she had punished him. But Kris misinterpreted her action.

"Why don't you feel better? You don't think I'm being sincere? You think I liked having no one to talk to for a month? Towards the end, I started hoping for Jesse and James to come taunt me, just so someone would visit me. You don't think I've had a lousy time without you, between losing to Jesse and being crammed into prison, all the time feeling guilty about how I'd yelled at you. I missed you, Karen. Even from the beginning I missed you. But maybe you don't think I've suffered enough. Do you want to hurt me some more? Go right ahead."

He spread out his arms in an inviting gesture, waiting for her to strike him. Karen didn't move. Kris picked up a long splinter of wood from his mutilated bed, about three feet long with a sharp point.

"You want me to stab myself with this; I'll do it."

"Don't you dare," Karen said, both annoyed and alarmed.

"What do you want from me then?"

"I want to be able to trust you!"

He stepped back. "You don't trust me?"

She scoffed. "Should I? First, you manipulated me into getting involved with your stupid plan—and I did help you, even though I didn't have anything against Jaquie. You used my ideas and you used my work. Then, when you were in a place of power, you treated me like a burden and threw me away. You betrayed me."

"How was that...? I didn't treat you like... And how did I manipulate you?"

"Oh, let's see. 'You can't protect us all our lives, Jaquie. We've grown up, Jaquie. We can handle the responsibility, Jaquie.' Sound familiar?"

Kris didn't answer.

"You think I don't notice when you suddenly become all sweet talk and good morals? I'm not stupid, Kris. You needed my help and used every persuasive trick you could think of to secure it."

"Well, if you saw through me so well, why did you go along with it?" he retorted.

"Because there's no point in being in Team Rocket if you're not there too!" Karen yelled back.

Kris stared. Karen realized what she'd said and felt a blush creeping up her neck and ears.

"I didn't mean it like that," she said. "I just meant that it took me forever to get used to you, obnoxious as you are, and I didn't want to have to adjust to another partner, that's all. In Team Rocket we're always on the move and... well, I need some stability in my life."

Kris said nothing.

"Just forget it," Karen said. "It doesn't matter, anyway. There's not going to be a Team Rocket, anymore." She hunched over. "We'll both be going to jail, soon, and then..." Karen shuddered. "Well, it's what happens to criminals."

"We shouldn't be going," Kris said angrily. "If we were just off on our own instead of stuck here!" He kicked the wall with the side of his shoe. "You'll be fine though," he told Karen. "Your family is rich and powerful. They'll get you out of prison."

"I'm not going to them for help," Karen said stubbornly. "Besides, I doubt they'd help me, anyway. They're probably be ashamed of me."

"Yeah, my parents won't care, either." Kris sat down next to her. "They didn't notice when I joined a gang. Only Cheryl noticed, and she cared more about her own reputation. The only one who might miss me is my little brother, if he still remembers me."

"We're pathetic," Karen said. "Sitting here, feeling sorry for ourselves."

They lapsed into silence.

"Kris, if I had my own plan and I needed your help, would you follow me unconditionally?" Karen asked after a while. "Would you do exactly what I tell you to do? Could I trust you with that?"

"Hypothetically? Why not?" He shrugged.

"Not hypothetically," Karen said, lowering her voice. She could still hear the guards talking to each other about early harvests and the inter-city trade. "Seriously," she whispered. "Would you follow my instructions?"

Kris sensed a conspiracy and bent his head toward hers. "Of course. But what do you have planned? Team Rocket is pretty much done for."

"I know," she said. "But do you want to escape?"

He stared at her. "You're kidding?"

"No," she said. "I've got a plan but I need your help. You to follow my orders to the letter without adding any touches of your own. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Kris smiled. "Does this mean you trust me again?"

Karen hesitated. "It means I need you. And if you prove you can listen to me, I might start to trust you again. But you're still on shaky ground, so don't push it," she added in a tough voice.

Kris' grin widened. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Karen stood up and pulled her shoulders back. "Okay," she said in a voice filled with spice and vinegar. "This is what we do."

. . .

Jaquie sat on the deck of her private yacht, thinking about power and watching her pokemon play. She'd found an assortment of specialized drinks and mixing machines in Giovanni's bar and had made herself an Expresso. She leaned back on the deck chair, sipping the strong bitter coffee.

Suddenly, a distraught Wartortle burst from the lower decks.

"Karen and Kris have escaped!"

Jared, who'd been working on schematics for new guns, jumped up with such force that he nearly spilled his pina colada. "What?!"

"What happened?" Jaquie asked calmly, putting down her Expresso.

Wartortle explained that he'd become suspicious when the guest bedrooms where Karen and Kris were imprisoned suddenly grew quiet. Wartortle stopped at Karen's room first. The door was efficiently broken at the hinges and cracked open. There were no guards outside the door, and no one was in the room. Wartortle quickly ran to Kris' room. When he opened the pummeled door, he found both the guards inside, fully conscience but completely dumb. There was no sign of Kris, and upon searching the boat, he noticed that Karen's and Kris' pokemon were missing.

"I bet I know what happened." Jared began to pace furiously. "They must have planned this together. First Kris—"

Jaquie stopped him mid-rant with a slight shake of her head. Turning to Wartortle, she asked him, "Do you have an idea of how they escaped?"

Wartortle, who looked irritated at Jared for interrupting his story, replied that yes, he _did _have an idea. First Kris created a distraction to get both guards to come to his room. Karen used her time alone to break through her door. She snuck around the ship, trying to find her pokemon. Apparently, she also found where Giovanni kept the amnesia serum. She used the amnesia serum on the two guards and let Kris out. Once they were both free, it was be a simple matter of teleporting out of the boat and swimming away.

Jaquie nodded. "Thank you for that report."

The Wartortle stood up straighter. "Should we go after them?"

"Is Giovanni still imprisoned?"

"Yes."

"Were any other pokemon hurt?"

"No."

"Then there's no need to go after them." Jaquie picked up her Expresso again. "All they wanted to do was escape."

"You're just going to let them get away?" Jared asked in astonishment.

"Have you ever tried to pursue Karen when she's bent on escape?"

"No," Jared admitted.

"I wouldn't recommend you try," Jaquie said. "You'll find yourself running into invisible walls and caved-in tunnels. When she has Kris with her it's worse. He's not afraid to turn around attack, so it becomes a hit-and-run battle. Very messy"

"You could still win," Jared said.

"I might," Jaquie said. "But even if I did Karen and Kris might get the idea that they're important. They're not. Right now, I'm focusing on untangling Team Rocket from its criminal reputation and turning it into something acceptable and profitable. Over the next few months—over the next few years—I'm going to need to use all my energy to undo this mess I've created."

"What if Karen and Kris interfere with your plans?"

"They won't," Jaquie said with a slight smile. "I have their entire record of criminal activities in my office. If they try to ruin me, I can easily destroy them and they know it. If they value their freedom, they'll leave me alone."

"But don't you want them to be punished?" Jared asked. "Aren't you angry with them?"

Jaquie stared out over the water. "Anger gets in the way of business." She shook her head. "No, I'm not angry with them. They helped me realize my mistakes. Besides." She glanced backwards. "Without them my sister would never have gotten her confidence back."

Jesse, James, and Meowth were on the opposite decks, sunbathing and drinking Margaritas. Jesse chatted happily about how their island story was going to be a huge success and before long they were going to be the most famous reporters alive. Jaquie shook her head and smiled.

Jared shrugged. "Well, if that's what you want."

It was. She swallowed the last of her Expresso.

"Fifteen minutes until we reach the mainland," Scott hollered.

The old sailor had come crawling to her, begging her to spare him. Jaquie asked if he could steer them back home and he readily agreed. She asked him what he wanted in payment, and he asked for the boat. Jaquie told him it would be his once they reached the shore. She was in a generous mood, having just usurped her boss.

Jared folded up his schematics. "By the way," he said, glancing at Jaquie. "I solved the mystery of how Jesse and James found out about the island. I know who told them."

The wind blew sea spray. Waves crashed and seagulls cawed in the distance.

"Who?" Jaquie said.

Jared looked at her. "You did."

She tilted her head.

"You didn't do it on purpose," he quickly added. "The last thing you wanted was your sister stowing away on a dangerous trip. I think what happened was that you wrote a letter to your mother, telling her about your latest assignment. Jesse was at your mother's house when the letter arrived; she recognized your handwriting and opened it. Jesse told her boss at the television station, and he gave them the story. Then, early the next morning, they snuck into the dock, hid in the crates, and, well..." Jared waved towards them. "You know the rest."

Jaquie listened carefully and nodded.

"But then," Jared said, studying her face, "You already knew that, didn't you?"

"I guessed," Jaquie said. "Same as you."

Leah suddenly began to shout frantically, and Jaquie's eyes rushed towards her. Leah had spent most of the trip walking atop the railing, and for a moment Jaquie was afraid she'd fallen overboard. But no, she was still perched atop the rail, leaning dangerously forward and yelling excitedly.

"She says that she can see the human world," Meowth lazily tossed in.

Straining, Jaquie could just see the hazy outline of buildings in the ever blue horizon.

"We're nearly home," Jared said contentedly. "I wonder if my family missed me. I have so much to tell them. And I'll have to show my little brother my new weapons."

Jaquie sighed. Vacation was over.

It was time to get to work.


	40. Epilogue: Jaquie's Company

**The Team Rocket Chronicles**

By** Red Dragonfly** (aka **Rebecca Lang**)

. . .

Epilogue

**Jaquie's Company**

. . .

. . .

The C.E.O. of Team Rocket Incorporated still wrote to her mother on simple cream-colored stationary with her favorite blue pen. She wrote while in her office, sitting at her broad mahogany desk. She'd sent the desk off the moment she had bought it, and when it came back, thin strips along the sides had been carved to show small three-dimensional pictures of pokemon. Visitors perceptive enough to notice the carvings remarked how noble the Nidorino seemed, how spirited the Nidorina, how wise the Alakazam, and how great and sad the Kangaskhan. They asked who'd carved it, but Jaquie only smiled mysteriously and said it was a secret.

Most visitors didn't pry into the desk, but they did often ask Jaquie about her secret to her success. After all, here was the young woman who came out of the most scandalous trial of the year unscathed. Everyone knew Team Rocket was a criminal organization and Jaquie, as one of the highest-ranked members, must have a shady past. But proof disappeared, witnesses dropped charges, and Jaquie's lawyers twisted everything to her advantage. In the end only Giovanni and his closest hooligans went to jail. Jaquie was acquitted of all charges. Shortly afterward, she filled out the paperwork to make Team Rocket a legal corporation, bought fifty three percent of the company stock, and elected herself C.E.O.

No one expected the company to survive. Its reputation was tarnished, it was mired with legal problems, and it faced competition from the monstrous Silph Co. The first year was straight losses. But Jaquie had anticipated all these problems from the beginning and set off to solve them. She mopped away the last of the legal litigations, expanded their legal business, and developed superior products. Slowly, Team Rocket began making profits.

In some way—in many ways—revenge against Giovanni wasn't as satisfying as she'd anticipated. It was more like removing a cancer: a painful, but necessary operation. Now that Giovanni was gone, Team Rocket could slowly regain its health.

But she had to be careful. There was still one person who could twist Team Rocket back into the same criminal, authoritarian state it had been before. That one person was Jaquie herself. Giovanni was vicious, ruthless, and greedy for power—but so was she. He had brought those competitive traits out of her, fed them, perverted them, and drove them crazy. Now that he was gone, Jaquie had those instincts under control, but they were still there. If she didn't watch herself, she could become Giovanni and a lot worse.

Jaquie finished her letter, sent her secretary to mail it, and turned on the news. Jesse, in a brown blazer, and James, in a sharp blue jacket, stood in front of a long field, microphones in their hands.

"A housing project threatens to disrupt a pokemon paradise. Investigative reporter Meowth discusses the pokemon's reactions."

Jaquie smiled sadly. She and Jesse would never be close. Those days of ice cream sundaes and bedtime stories were gone. Still, watching her baby sister read the news with confidence and buoyancy, Jaquie couldn't help but feel a little proud. Jesse had succeeded in a legitimate job after all.

The story of the island ran after carefully editing. Jaquie made sure they showed only the pokemon and very little of Team Rocket. Although it was a popular television special, no trainers had entered the island so far, and Gadara had the privacy she wanted. Jaquie, however, did visit from time to time. The first time, she delivered the promised antidote to amnesia serum. The second time she brought Leah to see her old friends.

There had been many changes to Mountaintop City. Gadara lost her position as mayor. Nevertheless, she held onto her prestige and gave lectures at schools and universities all over the island. The movement for pokemon independence was growing. In some cases, it was so extreme that Jaquie distinctly felt she wasn't welcome. But Gadara was always warm and friendly.

"The pokemon are learning to think on their own," she told Jaquie. "The road to independence is long and bumpy, but we are progressing. We are learning how to trust ourselves and live without the interference of humans."

The secretary entered her office.

"Jaquie, you have a three o' clock appointment at the laboratories."

Jaquie switched off the television and walked downstairs.

The science department was an essential part of Team Rocket. Although Jaquie kept many trainers on her payroll to legally capture the pokemon sold in Rocket Casinos, most of her profits came from new inventions, once they were properly marketed and sold. Now, she sat in at a meeting in the labs, listening to the scientist's report.

"We've tested our new super potion and its twice as effective as Silph Co's," the head scientist said proudly. "And Jared is working on a radio device that will let trainers give orders to their pokemon without their opponent hearing."

Jared pushed his glasses up his nose. "It's really a project inspired by you. I notice when you battle, you never give your pokemon direct orders and that seems to increase your chances of winning. So I'm working on a way to help other trainers do the same. It will change the way battles are conducted."

"I'd like to see that," Jaquie said. "Just don't let it interfere with your school work."

Jared was working as an intern while he attended college. Jaquie had gone up to the admissions official and asked them to review Jared's transcripts again. "I'd look over it very carefully," said Jaquie quietly. "Because my lawyers will be." Jared had promptly been accepted to the university and Jaquie paid his full tuition on the condition that he intern at Team Rocket Incorporated.

"I like you Jared, but you can't blame me for trying to rope you into a job here," she'd told him.

Jaquie finished the meeting and strolled down to the Viridian Gym. Giovanni had originally run it. Now Jaquie took over the role as gym leader. She had yet to hand out a single badge. She knew one day someone would beat her, but for now she enjoyed her perfect record.

Almost perfect. She had one loss to Karen and Kris, but no one knew about that. Jaquie hadn't seen either of them since she left the island. Part of her hoped they'd found their own measure of success, outside their criminal lives. After all, they weren't evil, no more than she was.

Jaquie stepped into the arena. Leah and Nidorino were already hard at practice. They were great rivals and she was constantly amazed at how they pushed their physical and mental abilities each day. Leah was a good match for Nidorino, and she really thrived in this environment. More than once, she had won Jaquie a crucial match.

Suddenly, the gym doors burst open.

"Jaquie! You're Jaquie, aren't you?"

Jaquie held up a hand and the battle ceased. "Yes. Can I help you?"

A girl with brown eyes and brown hair timidly stepped into the room. "My name is Sunny, and I want to be the World's Greatest Pokemon Master. I challenge you to a battle for a badge."

"I accept your challenge," Jaquie said.

Leah nudged Nidorino with a smile.

The girl tossed out a pokeball and a Crabby came out. Not intimidating pokemon to look at—but then, neither was Jaquie's Nidorino. He hopped eagerly in the center of the arena. Jaquie gazed at the young girl. Maybe one day she really would be the World's Greatest Pokemon Master. Maybe her life would lead her in a different direction.

Once upon a time a little girl with red hair and blue eyes from a poor, broken family had also dreamed of being the World's Greatest Pokemon Master. Now the C.E.O. of Team Rocket Incorporated stood in the arena and ordered her favorite pokemon into battle.

. . .

THE END

. . .

. . .

If you're wondering who Sunny is, she's Misty's shy younger sister, who was away at school while Misty had her adventures with Ash. My own sister Jaime made her up and I included her as a cameo in tribute to her.

I want to thank FrittzyCrazy for your many, many loyal reviews. You encouraged me week to week to keep updating, and I really do appreciate it. This was a lot of work, but knowing I had even one excited reader made it all worth it. Thanks. :)


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